A Reason to Live
by Fenix139
Summary: In a world dominated only by birds, a young blue macaw is at the end of his school career. He was once a writer, who wrote his heart out in every single one of his books to run away and hide from the girl he loved. Will he be able to make a decision about what to do with his life? Will he be able to bear the idea that his true love is with another boy?
1. The Beginning

**AUTHOR NOTE: Hello everyone and welcome to my first FanFiction story, I apologize immediately in advance for all the grammatical errors and other errors that you will find along this story but I hope you can enjoy this story anyway, as you can see from my profile I'm** **a** **19 years old Italian boy, this story is mainly inspired by 4 authors of this archive:**

 **-"Life of Love" by Alexriolover95**

 **-"Life of Love and Pure of Heart"** **by** **T8E. CR34TOR**

 **-"A Few Sweet Times"** **by T8E. CR34TOR**

 **(I literally don't know what's wrong with your name... the only way for me to write it is to put a space between your name...)**

 **-"Rio: Planet-X" by Dovahkiin1412**

 **-"Chapter of Life" by Dovahkiin1412**

 **-"Rio Escape From Alternate Reality" by Cyan The Hot Wing**

 **If you haven't read any of the stories listed above, go now! I assure you that you will not be disappointed.**

 **This story had to be initially** **a one-shot...** **but since in an hour I managed to throw down 7000 words of summary ... I decided to write a complete story.**

 **I will immediately put forward some premises, this is a "Zootopia" style world where there are no humans but only birds, the birds behave exactly like humans and so they are omnivorous (I decided to eliminate the chicken, turkey and so on from their diet for obvious reasons LOL) and they dress just like us.**

 **As for the school, because I don't know the American school system, this story will be based on the Italian school system, in Italy, the high school lasts 5 years and at the end of the last year you have the exam and once passed that you get the diploma.**

 **Quick Update: I corrected some error in the author note, I'm glad that most of you enjoyed this first chapter, right now I'm translating the next one, hopefully, it will be ready in 3 or 4 day who knows :) ~Fenix139**

 **Update (23/01/2019) : Well... where to start? I'm quite ashamed of this story, it was my first attempt of writing in English, a language that I wasn't initially very familiar with. Rereading it almost a year later... it just makes my eyes bleed so hard. There's a clear improvement in the later chapters but still, I recommend you all to read my latest story where it's much better in my opinion than this one. I won't delete it since lots of people love it but still, I will definitely one day, rewrite this whole thing. You can find my newest story in my profile and if you want, you can still give this story a shot but I want to be clear that I DON'T write like this anymore.**

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Chapter 1: The Beginning

It was a day like the others at Moose Lake in Minnesota, a young blue Macaw called Blu had just woken up from his long and deep sleep and was ready for a new day. Blu was a young Blue Macaw with dark blue plumage, brown hazel eyes, on his face he has white facial markings around his eyes with a ring of darker feathers around them, he also has a feather ruffle on the back and his beak and talons are gray. His room, as usual, was very messy, on his desk was full of books and paper sheets and this is because Blu was a writer, you read it well was because he has stopped writing for 2 years and since then he had retired from his career as a writer.

After a short stretch, he was finally ready to get out of bed and left his room. The first thing he saw was a long corridor with doors, one of those doors was the bathroom and that was his current destination. As he walked along that long corridor, the wall was crammed with pictures and portraits of his family and him, his father's name was John, a Blue Macaw quite muscular with a blue plumage, sky-blue eyes, black beak, and talon. Her mother's name was Camilla, she was also a Blue Macaw with a slimmer body, brown hazel eyes, dark grey beak, and talon.

Their family ran a family bookstore that had been handed down for 2 generations, while Blu was taking a shower, he heard his mother calling him saying that breakfast was ready and hurry up, otherwise, he would be late for the lesson. Blu tried to shower as fast as possible and went immediately downstairs ready to start this new day. Once he went downstairs, he immediately saw his father with the newspaper between his wings and his mother at the stove.

"Good morning son ready for a new day of school? "His father said as he lowered the newspaper to see his son.

"Good morning Blu, wait a moment that I will immediately serve breakfast. "His mother said from behind, concentrating on the stove as not to burn anything.

"Good morning, dad and mom in 20 minutes I have to be in front of the bus stop if I don't want to be late," Blu said as he hurried to sit down at the table.

"If you woke up earlier you wouldn't have had this problem son." His father said quietly.

"Your right dad, this is my last year of high school and my whole class is bombarded with tests and books to study, next time I'll sleep sooner," I replied.

"Well said Blu, here is your breakfast." His mother said.

Blu, who was already seated at the table, began to eat thinking about things to do, the tasks he still had to do, plan for the future and so on...

"Blu I hope you have not forgotten that today you have to go shopping yourself! Money is on the table," his father said with a serious face.

"And remember to buy fruit and vegetables as well, a balanced diet is a fundamental thing to stay healthy and strong," his mother said, giggling, thinking back to what had happened last time.

"Okay, Mom and Dad, I'll remember what you just told me," Blu said, nodding with his head.

After about ten minutes, Blu took the money from the table, the backpack and got ready to start this new day. He opened the door and was greeted by the autumn leaves; the school had just started again and this was his last year in high school and next year he should start with the university... The landscape was somewhat mesmerizing, a multitude of leaves of different colors covered the road that would bring Blu to the bus stop, ' _After the heat of the summer, this change of landscape really took place'_ thought Blu. Once the stop was in his range of vision he saw that he was not alone, among the various birds there is was one he knew, he was a Toco Tucan, one of Blu's best friends.

Blu accelerated his pace to reach him and once arrived, he greeted him. "Hi, Rafael! how long I have not seen you!" Blu said, smiling.

"Hello Blu, I have not seen you for 3 months, I think. How did your holidays go?" Rafael asked, smiling back at him.

"Well, I spent my holidays at the beach and I have to say that it helped me to get rid of the stress accumulated during the year, and what about you?" Blu replied.

"I spent the holidays in Rio De Janeiro where I saw my grandparents," Rafael answered. Suddenly the bus arrived and they both go up and find a place to sit down.

"Are you ready for this last school year Blu?" Rafael said with a sad face. Blu immediately noticed the change of expression in the face of his friend and prepared himself, as usual, to cheer him up.

"Yes, I'm ready Rafael why this sad face?" Blu said trying to cheer up Rafael.

"Is it that time passes really quickly ... do you believe it's already been 5 years? Do you already know what you're going to do in the future?" Rafael said more relieved.

"Well, you're right about the fact that time flies, unfortunately, I still do not know what to do for the future but I hope to have a clear idea as soon as possible." Blu replied.

Blu looking out the window, he saw birds heading to their offices for work, mothers who brought their children to school and some skyscrapers in the distance. _'And in these moments, you understand that time really flies, I still remember my first year of high school where half of these buildings were not even there yet and look now how much it has changed ..._ ' he thought. Finally, the bus arrived at its destination and once they got off the bus and went to their school, during the journey, he saw many familiar faces and some classmates, once exchanged their greetings they enter in the building.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

My school was a fairly new one, built 9 years ago, quite advanced as laboratories, lesson tools, sports facilities etc... It was a fairly large school that could accommodate a thousand students, once I reached my class I was welcomed by many of my classmates, including a dear friend of mine, Rebecca who was a Hyacinth Macaw.

"Hi, Blu and Rafael!" Rebecca said, hastily waving her wing to get my attention.

"Hi, Rebecca everything all right?" I said with a smile on my face.

"Hello to you too Rebecca!" Rafael said.

"I thought you were late today!" Rebecca said worriedly

"Let's say that last night I fell asleep late and as a result I woke up late." I said a little embarrassed.

"You stayed the same as usual I see?" Rebecca said in a sarcastic tone.

Suddenly the bell rang and we all headed to our desk, to begin with the lesson. From the classroom door, entered a Blue and Gold Macaw, it was Professor Edwards. "Good morning guys, I hope you are all ready for this new school year because it will be your last year in this school, or better, it will be the last one for some of you." Professor Edwards said with an authoritative expression in his face.

 _'The whole class remained silent, some sweating cold, others praying, others trying to be attentive to the lesson, in short, I had missed this feeling'_ I thought. The lesson went on smoothly, I had no problem with the speed with which the professor explained, _'Maybe because I was the best in my class? Well, surely, being the best in the class have its advantages'_ I thought as I was listening to the professor. During the break while I went to the bathroom, I crossed my eyes with the most popular couple of the school, Roberto and Jewel, Roberto is a Blue Macaw who moved 2 years ago in our school, he is a boy with a very athletic body and extremely good with girls, in short, all the qualities I didn't have...

Jewel instead was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, with her slim body and those turquoise eyes she could bewitch anyone in her presence, needless to say, I had a crush on her but I knew from the very first year that our possible relationship would be an impossible love because she had no reason to stay with me... She was with a model guy who was the captain of the football team of the institute also, last year our school had even won the tournament of our city, a goal that had never been achieved and he had succeeded in just one year, becoming the absolute top scorer of our school. Needless to say, that all the girls were behind him, in short, someone like me would never have any hope of beating him... Once back in class I was immediately greeted by Rebecca and Rafael.

"So Blu, have you finally found the love of your life?" Rebecca said in a sarcastic tone. She knew very well that my eyes had always been on Jewel but despite this, she enjoyed teasing me constantly.

"Come on Rebecca don't tease him, you know that Blu's eyes are only for Jewel," Rafael said trying to cheer me up.

"Come on Rafael, I tried to encourage him to deny me and assert himself..." Rebecca said.

"Don't worry Rebecca, you didn't offend me, I'm used to your provocations," I replied.

"Hey don't make me feel guilty! I was just trying to give a bit of confidence in you!" Rebecca said trying to defend herself.

The day continued as usual and to return home, rather than take the bus, I preferred to do it on foot, my house was not far from school but the reason why I took the bus in the morning was because if I didn't do it, then I would have had to wake up earlier and since I was a lazy bird, i preferred to have more minutes of sleep. Also, today I don't even have to go home right away, today i had a commission to complete, and that thing was shopping. I headed towards the main street of the neighborhood where most of the shops of the city are concentrated, _'this street is so alive ... so full of life, even in the most difficult moments of my life I like to come here just to cheer me up'_ I thought between myself.

In the distance I could begin to see a giant and colorful sign typical of large multinationals, I had always wanted to shop at the market ... but because of my shy personality, I preferred the less sociable environment of the supermarket and I must admit it was so comfortable to come here... within about 100 meters you could find everything at a price sometimes very advantageous. Once i reached the neighborhood supermarket, I took one of those baskets, since I don't have to buy so much stuff it makes no sense to take the big cart to buy 6 things at best, _'better to prefer portability than capacity in this case'_ i thought. Once inside, I felt like I was in another world of its own, I tried to lose as little time as possible and then come home as soon as I could because my parents are waiting for me.

After about 5 minutes of fast walking I managed to get everything I was looking for and once I was satisfied with my work I headed to the supermarket checkout counter. As I headed for the checkout counter, I came across the books section, _'the books... once I was a writer but when I lost all my motivation I left everything behind me even though I knew that my books had quite a success but in that moment,_ _I didn't care, I just wanted to quit and try to vent all the stress I had built up'_ I thought as I looked around. While I was in my thoughts, I didn't look carefully in front of me and unfortunately, I slammed against someone, that hit had brought me back to earth and i immediately prepared myself to make the sincerest apologies for my carelessness. But fate wanted me, out of all the people I could meet... Jewel was in front of me with a rather irritated look.

"Excuse me so much, it's all my fault I did not pay enough attention to where I was going..." I said in a very honest and humble way.

"Next time, watch where you go and be more careful!" Said Jewel in a very annoyed tone.

Jewel, who until now had not even looked at me in the face slowly began to get up from the ground and I like a good gentleman, stretched my wing to help her get back on her feet, she didn't think twice to grab my wing but, as soon as her wing and mine came into contact... at that moment, I felt an indescribable feeling, something I thought I had already forgotten… As soon as her eyes came into contact with mine, her facial expression changed from that annoyed to a curious and confused look as if she knew me.

"Do we know each other by chance?" She said, looking at me closely.

"Umm... I know you because we go to the same school, but you definitely don't know me." I replied.

Jewel confused by my statement decided to go all the way and ask for my name.

"Ah... I understand, that's why I thought I already saw you, what's your name?" She asked.

"My name is Blu, I attend the last year of your same institute." I replied.

"Ah, so one of my peers who attends the same school as i... I think I've already heard your name, do you have Mr. Edwards as your professor? " She asked.

"Yes Mr. Edwards is my professor, what have you heard of me?" I asked, now overwhelmed by curiosity.

"I heard you're the brightest student in the whole institute, is that true?" She asked.

Now I was more embarrassed than ever on the rumors circulating about me, I tried to remain as serious and calm as possible.

"Well I wouldn't say the best in the institute, maybe the best in my class would be more suitable." I replied humbly.

"I see you're a very humble guy, what are you doing in the book section? By chance do you read the books as well? "she asked.

"I stopped because of the studies and my commitments, unfortunately, I have been very busy, I could ask you the same question, why are you in this section of the supermarket?" I asked.

"Well I love literature and I like reading books, unfortunately, my favorite author has stopped writing... it's a real pity, he disappeared into nothingness and moreover, none even knows his true identity." She replied.

After hearing this statement, I was more curious than ever, I had to discover who this author was and who she was referring to, I don't know why but I had a certain feeling of Déjà-Vu that was tormenting me.

"If you don't mind... could you tell me the name of the author you're talking about?" I asked as kindly as possible.

"Well I don't see why not, I'm talking about T. Gunderson the talented writer, the only thing we know about him is that he's a very young boy and that's it," she said sadly.

As soon as I heard my pen name, I almost had a heart attack... I would never have imagined that the girl I was madly in love with, could be a fan of mine...

I remained silent for a while, no longer knowing how to respond ... too many thoughts wandered around in my head at the time and I couldn't formulate any words, it was as if my brain had suddenly stopped and needed a forced reboot of the system as if i was a computer…

Jewel immediately noticed a change in my face as soon as she named that name.

"Do you already know him or are you a fan of ?" She asked, unaware that the name she had just named was the same person she had in front of her.

I tried to invent the first plausible excuse that could ever come to my mind and tried to look as sincere as possible, at the same time I was very curious about why she was a fan of mine, I have to know why... I must absolutely know it...

"Well, I read some of his books but now I'm curious about why you're a fan of his? What do you like about his books? What struck you the most about him?" While I was talking, a part of me realized that there were too many questions all in one go... I had ruined everything I thought at that moment, she would have surely understood that I was hiding something…

"Um, I have to say you asked me a lot of questions all at once?" She replied giggling.

I was silent fearing the worst, _'how did I make such a mistake?'_ I thought.

"However, responding very briefly to your questions, the thing that struck me most is his way of writing, his approach to life, his way of building their characters each with a very specific role and personality, his way of narrating, his thoughts about love and much more that I don't have time to say, because otherwise, it'll be late. "She replied.

I was literally stunned, I didn't know what to say... _'One thing was to hear it from someone who you didn't even know or care… but hearing the same thing but told by her... everything takes on a completely different meaning... feeling appreciated by the girl I fell in love with was literally priceless, I don't think I've ever felt so satisfied in my life but all of a sudden her last words have entered my head... "otherwise it'll be late." why I was so impressed by these words'_ I thought.

Suddenly I remembered the real reason why I had come here... shopping and returning as soon as possible from my parents who were still waiting for me... I could sincerely stay all day talking with her, looking at her, hearing her angelic voice... but now I couldn't, I had to go home immediately.

"Now that you make me think about it, I have to go home because my parents are waiting for me, I'm so sorry I'm sure we'll have more opportunities in the future to talk again, it was nice to meet you, Jewel." I said trying to be as kind as possible.

"Oh don't worry we both lost the perception of time as well, I have to go back to my parents' restaurant immediately because the dinner time is approaching!" She hurriedly said.

Having said that I went immediately to the first supermarket checkout counter available in such hurry that I have not had in a while _'The last time I was in all this rush was... during the publication of my last book... I was late with my scheduling and in a few days, I have done the job that I should have done in a whole month... now that I think about it I didn't even reveal my secret... I wonder how she would have reacted if she knew I was T. Gunderson...'_ I thought while I was standing in line at the checkout.

Once I paid for everything, I immediately headed home, on the way home I did nothing but think about what I was doing with my life... The real reason why I started writing was for her, yes, I began to write because I had to find a way or the other to vent my feelings towards her, even if in an implicit way. I have to say that this thing worked until he had appeared... Roberto... I don't absolutely blame him for everything, I never revealed my feelings towards her... if there was someone who was on the wrong side or was to blame, that was me... At that moment I dropped several tears, fortunately, it was evening and nobody could notice them, _'What's the meaning of my life?'_ I wondered about myself. Suffer at seeing the love of your life being with another boy and never having the courage to confess your love?

From the few tears that came down initially from my eyes, now it was as if it had become a river... a river of repressed emotions that never had the chance to have been expressed, I never cried more than now, especially after having heard with my own ears that she appreciated my books... that means I could have a chance with her but now it's too late... by now she was with Roberto and I couldn't do anything anymore.

Once arrived in front of the house, I pulled out a package of tissues to dry my tears, I didn't want to be seen in this condition especially by my parents... I had to stay strong and I had to know how to keep going with my life even if... right now I have no motivation to continue living... the only thing that prevents me from committing the act of taking my life is my family... they would be destroyed if I took my life and in addition to them all the people dearest to me... I have to stay lucid and think better, this was one of those things that once done, there was no way to go back.

Once I had calmed myself down, I opened the door of my house and immediately saw my father and mother with worried looks, as soon as they saw me they ran immediately to me and hugged me as strongly as they never did, it wasn't for me to promise one thing and not keep it, I felt really guilty for making them worry so much.

"Where have you been a son?! We thought something bad happened to you, you really got us worried! "My father said in a very angry tone.

"Calm down John, the important thing is that our son is back, I'm sure he has a valid motivation and reason to be back so late." My mother said waiting only for an exhaustive answer from me.

"Sorry mum and dad, while I was shopping I met an old friend that I hadn't seen for a long time and I lost track of time, it will not happen again I promise." I said trying to be as convincing as possible.

From the looks of my father and mother, I immediately understood that they still had many doubts but for the moment they gave up and so we went to the kitchen to have dinner. Today's dinner was the most silent of all time, usually, we talked a lot but tonight none of the 3 felt in the mood to start a speech. Once I had finished dinner I went back to my room and took my guitar that I hadn't used for years, the last time I used it was during middle school but from that day on I was mainly dedicated to literature... I started tuning it and tried to use it to play some parts of some songs to see if I could still use it or not. And I began to play a song that I knew well and that reflected how I felt at that moment.

What I didn't know was that I had not fully closed the door of my room, my parents who were downstairs heard the sound of my guitar and immediately stopped talking to understand what I was doing. After few minutes, my parents were stunned, they didn't know at all what was happening in my life, they thought I was happy, through their eyes I had an almost enviable life, excellent school grades, excellent universities ready to welcome me, perspective writer and full of talent. In short, they certainly didn't expect to find me in this state

"John, I think you should go upstairs and find out what is afflicting our son," My mother said.

"Yes, I think you're right as usual, I would never have imagined that he felt all this frustration and kept everything inside him without telling anyone, not even his parents!" John said as he walked towards my room.

As I recovered from my recent outburst of emotions, I heard a knock on the door and then I heard my father's voice. "Blu can I come in?" My father asked. I immediately put my guitar away and tried to look like I was studying for tomorrow's lesson.

"You can come in, dad," I replied looking out of my room's window. I saw my father enter my room and sit next to me on the bed.

"Son, you know very well that you can tell me everything you know, don't you? You can always count on me if something afflicts you and I promise you that I will do everything to help you as best as I can," my father said.

"Did you hear me play the guitar?" I asked.

"Yes, but I'm not here because I heard you play the guitar, even if it made me astonished, I thought you had definitely abandoned the guitar to concentrate on writing books," my father replied.

"Well you're not wrong, I decided to focus completely on my books once I went to high school," I said.

"Now that I think of it, you never told me why you stopped writing, could I know why you stopped so suddenly?" my father asked me.

At that moment I had made a decision, it made no sense to hide my true motivation for why I had stopped writing and if there was anyone who had the right to know why, that was my father and mother. "Okay I'll tell you everything, now I have no more reason to hide all this, especially after what happened today," I said with a sad face.

Meanwhile, both of us didn't realize that my mother was behind the door eavesdropping, she knew very well that it was wrong but wanted to help me somehow, it was stronger than her, maybe it was the maternal instinct? Who knows. "It all started 5 years ago, while I settled in my class and made my first friendships, I met her... a really beautiful girl who left me breathless, I thought it was nothing, since I thought it was one of those many crushes during adolescence and that would have vanished as soon as I discovered more about her, but I was wrong," I said looking out of the windows.

"Why were you wrong?" My father asked with a confused face.

"She ... she's perfect, I thought she was one of those girls who was beautiful outside but ugly inside, I think you understood what I mean right dad?" I said looking at him.

"You thought it was one of those beautiful but hateful, stupid, vain girls and so on?" my father replied.

"Exactly but as I said before I was wrong, she is literally the opposite of what I believed, she was smart and I saw it with my own eyes during a competition organized by the school, she almost beat me, incredible... I still struggle to believe it," I said looking straight into my father's eyes.

"She's kind... I saw her defend some guys who were going to be bullied and she showed more courage than many other birds I've seen so far," I said.

"She is strong ... she knows how to defend herself and even be respected by males, which is not common among girls, she is not that kind of girl who totally relies on her boyfriend ... she is an independent girl, able to get away on her own if necessary, just as I like it..." I said raising my voice.

"I can continue until tomorrow morning, I don't know if you understood dad," I said laughing.

"Well son, from your description of this girl, I think this is true love and you should do everything to confess your feelings, true love is a rare and precious thing," my father said, proud of me.

"And that's exactly the problem dad, I've always been on the sidelines admiring her without having even the courage to talk to her and to confess my feelings, I started writing for her... she was my motivation to undertake this path, she was and still is my muse of inspiration..." I replied.

"Until now I have not seen anything of concern except the fact that you never confessed your love toward her, what happened between you two?" my father said looking at me.

"Well in the third year there was a new student called Roberto who moved into our school, and as you can imagine this new student was and still is ... perfect ... strong, handsome and knows how to talk to a girl," I replied.

"I think I understand where you are going to, this girl you're talking about is in a relationship with this so-called Roberto and you, seeing them together, you completely lost the motivation you had and you stopped writing right? Because you are jealous and never had the chance to confess your love? " my father said.

"I do not know how you understood everything, but I suppose it was obviously right?" I said, looking at my father. My father and I, after the comment made by me, we both laughed out loud and my mother who was still outside the door, by mistake she had leaned too much on the door and fell into my room.

"Darling are you okay?" my father said with a worried face.

"Mom you didn't hurt yourself, right?" I said, trying to help her.

"D-don't worry, I'm fine... sorry if I was eavesdropping," my mother said, preparing herself for the worst.

"Don't worry mom I was already planning to tell you after confessing everything to dad," I said trying to console her.

"Honey, it's not that you didn't trust me, eh?" my father said in a mischievous tone.

"No, you're wrong, my motherly instinct told me to listen to you and maybe help you if you had any problem..." my mother said in a sad tone.

"Camilla I was joking I would never doubt you, you know it? After all that we went through, I would be crazy if I still have some doubts about you, you're my one and only, Camilla," my father said in a seductive tone.

"Oh now don't be mushy and anyway I can say the same thing about you, you're my one and only, John," my mother chuckled. After this little conversation, the two exchanged a very passionate kiss.

"Well, what to say... I envy your relationship, I hope one day I can have a relationship like yours," I said.

"Do not worry, son, you've already found the right girl you just need to confess your love remember?" my father said to me.

"Dad I hope you haven't forgotten that the girl I love is currently with another boy," I said confused.

"That does not mean anything, Blu, you don't have to give up until you confess your love for her, you'll never know if she shares your same emotions or not until you try, you don't have to give up," my father said trying to cheer me up.

"Well said, darling. Blu, you don't know but I fought for your father, he, at your age, was an extremely attractive Macaw and he still is, he was already dating a girl, but I did not give up and one day I confessed my feelings to your father and look what happened," Camilla said, chuckling.

"It happened that I made the best choice of my life, that is to marry your mother, son what I'm telling you is that it doesn't matter if she's already with another boy, until they get married, you always have to fight, to conquer her, especially if it's true love, I went out with so many girls because I was looking for the ideal girl for me and when your mom confessed her love for me... it happened what should've happened," my father said, looking at my mother.

"Oh John, stop it, remember why we are in our son's room, we didn't come here to tell our life and brag about our relationship, right?" my mother said.

"True, you're right, resuming from where you left off son, you still didn't tell me what happened to you today," my father said looking at me.

"Well, today I had for the first time a chance to talk to that girl I just told you, her name is Jewel, I also discovered something shocking... she's a fan of my books..." I replied.

"Wow, and aren't you happy?" my father said with a smile.

"This means that I always had a chance to conquer her! But I wasted it, that's why I came home with tears... I didn't know she like me in an indirect way... after all the praise I received from the audience I thought I was satisfied and that nothing would surprise me anymore and instead... the praise that she made me... even though they are banal, they have a mysterious force that distinguishes it from all the others... I don't know how to say it," I replied with a sad face.

"I also discovered that she was sad because I suddenly abandoned everything and disappeared... I feel guilty... if only I had known it before... and moreover I have not told her that I am T. Gunderson," I said.

"Well I don't see where the problem is, you just need to start writing again right? Now that you know she's a fan of yours, you can use this thing to your advantage, be smarter, son," my mother said smiling at me.

"Your mother is right as always, take this fact to your advantage, if you really care for her then you would do anything to make her happy," my father said looking at me. The words of my parents had touched my heart deep inside, they were both right if I really cared about her then I had to be willing to do anything to make her happy.

"You're both right, I decided to start again writing, even if 2 years have passed, I want to try again that feeling that I have not felt for too long, thanks a lot, mum and dad, you both are the best, and I love you," I said hugging both of my parents.

"We love you too, son and know that we will support you in every single decision you will make," my father said.

"I agree with your father, with us you can always be sincere because we will always be here to help you in time of need," my mother said, putting her wing on my shoulder.

* * *

 **3rd Person POV**

Meanwhile, in the other part of town, a girl was hurrying back to the restaurant run by her parents, by now it was almost dinner time and she knew that on her return she would be scolded and maybe even punishment for the weekend. Once he reached the restaurant she immediately saw the sign with the words "Birds of Blue Feathers" on it, besides being the name of the restaurant, it was also the motto of his family "Birds of Blue Feathers must stick together!" While she was thinking about this, she had seen his father outside the door with a very worried expression. His father was a Blue Macaw with an imposing cerulean body, green eyes and he has a short crest of flattened feathers on the top of his head, his name was Eduardo.

"Jewel where have you been? Your mom and I were worried about you!" his father said angrily.

"Sorry dad... at the supermarket I met a boy who attends my own school, we started talking and we didn't notice all the time that has passed," her daughter replied. Hearing her husband talking to someone outside the door, another Blue Macaw was intrigued and decided to go and check what was happening.

"Jewel! You came back at last, we thought you were lost or worse!" a female blue macaw said, she was an almost exact copy of her daughter, her name was Sarah.

"Sorry mom I'll tell you what happened later, we have to hurry up! soon customers will arrive!" their daughter said trying to get inside the restaurant.

That said the family of Blue Macaw was rushing back into the restaurant and preparing all the tables and kitchen for the imminent evening that was waiting for them. After less than 10 minutes, the first customers began to enter the room, Jewel who was helping her parents since middle school managing the room and the customers, went to the locker room where she wore a maid uniform and prepared to serve customers.

"I would like 2 menus of the day and 1 beer," a customer said.

"Very well they'll come right away!" Jewel said writing everything in a small notebook Meanwhile, his parents were there to watch her.

"She has really grown so much right dear?" her mother said, looking at her daughter running from side to side.

"Oh yes, time really flies ... and to think that I still remember when she was 15 and accidentally spilled beer on a customer," his father said laughing with his wife.

"How come you only remember the mistakes she made, however, you're right, time really flies... she's no longer a child and sooner or later she will find a guy who will be able to make her happy as I was," Sarah said, looking into her husband eyes.

"Come on Sarah, not now in front of the whole restaurant, however, she will always remain my little child, as far as the boy is concerned ... he must have my consent before going out with her," her father said looking at her daughter.

"As I imagined, you're always the same huh?" Sarah said giggling.

"MOM, DAD! Have you finished talking and come to help me with the customers?" Jewel said in an irritated tone.

"Yes, sorry Jewel, we're coming," his father said heading to the kitchen.

"Being scolded by your daughter is priceless," said Sarah bursting with laughter.

After a long evening and after having finished serving all the customers the Blue Macaw family was preparing to clean and then close the place. "It was a really busy evening tonight," Jewel said, panting.

"Oh yes, today there were more people than usual," her mother said as she cleaned a table.

"Less talk, more work!" Eduardo said looking at the two macaws.

* * *

 **Just to let you know ... I have already written 50,702 words for this story (in Italian at the moment) but I would still love to have some feedback from you to see if you are interested in the story or not and another reason why I ask you feedback is because it takes me a long time to translate everything ... I first write the story entirely in Italian and then translate it into English.**

 **Ps: I still don't know when I will publish the next chapter but I hope as soon as I can.**

 **~Fenix139**


	2. My New Life

**AUTHOR NOTES: Hello everyone, welcome to my second chapter, unfortunately I couldn't help writing a chapter even longer than the previous one... I hope you don't mind reading long chapters, at the bottom of the chapter I will explain to you the reason.**

 **PS: I would like to thank all the people who have reviewed the previous chapter, I would like to let you know that thanks to your reviews, you have motivated me to put myself immediately to translate this chapter.**

 **PPS: I still can't decide a cover for this book... I'm starting to think that finding a right book cover is harder than writing a new chapter...**

 **As you already know, I have enough material for another 2 or 3 chapters, I started from a chapter with only 4900 words and a few day I managed to raise it up to 8780 words... another reason why I'm writing so much, it's because this summer I'll start working and so I will not have much time to write and translate in the meantime.**

 **Now enough talking and I will leave you to the second chapter of A Reason To Live.**

* * *

-Chapter 2 My New Life

Today was Saturday and so there was no school, yesterday I made the decision to resume writing, but I still have doubts... _'Will I still be able to write well? Are there still people who are willing to read my books?'_ I thought. For now, it is useless to think about it... _'It will be better to hurry up that today I have to help my parents with the library'_ I thought to myself.

That said, I rushed downstairs to have breakfast, once finished, I had got into the car with my father and mother to go to our library. We didn't take long, the journey from my house to the library was very short and in less than 10 minutes we were already there.

"The Blue Macaw Library" I said reading the sign that every time made me smile as it is trivial but effective.

"My son, just stop criticize the name of our library, the name was already like this when your father inherited your grandfather's library." My mother said in a sarcastic tone.

"No mom, you misunderstood me, I wasn't criticizing the name of the library; indeed, the name may apparently seem trivial but it is not, I really like this name." I said as I was about to get inside.

"I'm glad you like the name, come on and let's open this library because it will be a long day". My father said pulling out the keys.

The library was distributed on two floors, the first floor was a long and large room, on the sides there were large shelves full of books cataloged by name and genre, the same thing was for the center of the room where other rows of shelves separated the room into several parts.

If you looked up at the ceiling, you could see a big balcony, that's because the floor above did not entirely cover the entire ceiling but only in part, the second floor was dedicated to relax and therefore was equipped with many tables and armchairs, there were also many automatic machines for drinks and snacks, many times even students came here to study in company.

Next to the entrance there was a cash desk and a computer where all the books currently on loan and the list of books in the library were registered. Moreover, the library was even equipped with a warehouse where all the newly arrived books or still to be cataloged book were kept, there was also a computer that was connected to a circuit of cameras scattered throughout the library.

After just 20 minutes the first customers were already arriving, although we are in the age of internet and digital books, the physical copy books were definitely the best in my opinion, _'Reading a physical book is a completely different feeling, the smell... the roughness of the page... if I had to choose between reading a physical book or a digital one, I would choose the physical ones in every circumstance_ ' I thought as I looked around the library.

The day passed very quickly, doing the librarian's job may seem boring but it was not at all, first, most of the birds that came in, were usually smart and open minded. I often liked to chat with them by exchanging opinions on different authors or topic, this helped me many times to overcome the writer's block.

And then I liked listening to people's requests, I liked to hear their passion, their favorite genre and help them find their best possible book and when they were satisfied ... I was too.

While I was doing my usual patrol tour between the various shelves, I had heard 2 teenage boys talking about a certain author who was familiar to me, I looked out to see and hear what and who they were talking about.

"Have you read this book? It's one of my favorite books ever! " The boy said holding a book in his wing.

"What's that book about?" The girl asked with a curious face and trying to read the book's title.

"This is a romantic book, it talks about this bird in search of his true love and ends up in a daring adventure, I stop here because otherwise you'll know how it ends." The boy said showing the book to the girl.

"Interesting, who wrote this book?" The girl asked looking at the book that was between the wings of the boy.

"This book was written by T. Gunderson, is said to be a very young writer, unfortunately he has stopped writing for 2 years ... I miss his books ..." The boy said with a sad face.

"Do you know anything about this infamous T. Gunderson? I think I've already heard him..." The girl said placing a wing under his chin.

"In 3 years he managed to get a lot of fame, it wasn't easy to publish one masterpiece after another, for a moment he was the most popular author among young people." The boy said holding the book close to himself.

"That's why I felt I had already heard about him... everyone talked about him in my school! It was absurd, it's a pity that he suddenly stopped, especially with all the fame he had achieved in so little time." The girl said as she read the back of the book.

Once the boy finished the conversation with his friend, in the meantime I had already moved to another section to order some books, I saw the boy looking around as if he was looking for something and then I approached him.

"Good morning, do you work here?" the boy asked, looking straight in my eye.

"Yes, how can I help you? Are you looking for some particular books?" I answered cordially.

"I was looking for the books of a specific author ... can you tell me where I can find other books on T. Gunderson?" The boy asked, showing me the book he had in his wings.

"How come you want to read other books of this author? He has already stopped writing for 2 years, I'm sure there are many other books that are more valid and better than his." I asked, confused by his request.

"I want to read his books because no one has ever managed to involve me in a story like him, I hated reading but when a friend of mine presented me one of his book... everything changed, T. Gunderson is different from all the other writers, he manages to drag you into the story and the only way to get out of it was to finish the book. " The boy said firmly convinced of what he was saying.

These words ... why? Why do they still keep in reading books of an author who has been retired? I don't understand...

"Well if you are firmly convinced of your choice, go to that section, there you will find all the books he has published over three years" I said, pointing to a shelf not far from me with my wing.

Whenever I saw someone reading one of my books... I had a strange feeling that I can't currently describe, maybe this feeling was to have disappointed my fans... _'Of course, I'm not supposed to write for them, I started writing for passion and I intend to continue on this path but... if I was going to quit, I could at least explain to everyone my motivations instead of disappearing for 2 years...'_ I thought as I watched the boy take one of my books among his wings...

"I heard your conversation son..." My father said, putting a wing on my shoulder.

"Why they insist on reading the books of an author that has already retired? I don't understand them... there are so many other talented authors out there..." I said looking at my father.

"They choose who to read not you, son, this is your job after all, how can you forget that?" My father said.

"… Your right dad... how can I forget something like this..." I said, lowering my head.

"Don't be so sad, son, remember the real reason why a writer publishes a book ... obviously there is no universal definition for this thing, this is one of those things that changes from writer to writer" My father said smiling at me.

 _'The real reason why a writer publishes a book... what was my motivation aside from Jewel? What pushed me to publish a book? In two years I have forgotten many things but... now I remember... I started writing inspired by my possible relationship with Jewel, but I started to publish my books after having my parent read them... they were the first birds that had the opportunity to read my books and at the same time they were the only ones to know the true identity of T. Gunderson._

 _I published my first book after seeing my father and mother in tears, I thought they were disappointed by me and instead they told me that my book had moved them... to see both my parents proud of my work gave me the motivation and the courage to publish my first book._

 _I decided to publish my books anonymously because I don't like being at the center of attention ... but after months of my publication, my books had a sudden rise in popularity ... in Moose Lake, I saw so many boys and adults reading my books... seeing them read my books and see them satisfied... it was what pushed me to continue... '_ I thought.

Sometimes I'm really amazed by what my father says ... undoubtedly, he is the bird model that I want to become, of course, only this side of his, because every person has its faults and defects... and my father's defect?... better not mention them now I thought between me.

"Thanks dad... I wouldn't really know what to do without your help... as I said yesterday I'm going to write again, last night I had a dream that gave me the inspiration for my new story. " I replied, hugging him between my wings.

"You don't need to thanks me son, what father would I be if I didn't cheer up my own son? As you already know, your mother and I will always be by your side, in difficult times and not. " My father said, smiling at me.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the "Birds of Blue Feathers" restaurant, there was a lot of movement inside the hall, lunch time was approaching and no one could waste too much time standing still while everyone was preparing the tables to serve customers.

"Honey, I need to go to the library for a moment because I had booked a new cookbook so we can vary the dishes on our menu a little!" Sarah said, attracting her husband's attention.

"Dear, are you sure it's necessary? I think the menu is good as it is now..." Eduardo said not convinced what his wife wanted to do.

"I know you too well... are you afraid of the changes? I remember that it took me a week of continuous requests to make you change the positioning of a sofa ..." Sarah said chuckling.

"... the thing is… if things work well as they are, I don't see a reason to change." Eduardo said, looking away from his wife.

"Dear, during our life we must also be willing to change, obviously one chooses whether to do it or not but there will never be an improvement without a change." Sarah said not surprised by her husband's reaction.

"... When you talk like this nobody can make you change your mind ... okay honey but watch out!" Her husband said, amazed at what his wife said.

"Do not be stupid, darling, I'm not a little girl anymore! I can take care of myself. "Sarah said, turning to her husband.

"Yes, I'm sorry if I doubted you, it's that I care about you so much that sometimes I treat you as if you were my daughter that I have to protect." Eduardo said, embarrassed.

"You do not have to apologize, you will always be my one and only, Eduardo" Sarah said in a seductive voice.

"The same for me too." Eduardo said exchanging a quick kiss with Sarah.

"Okay now I have to go, otherwise I'll be late." Said Sarah leaving the restaurant.

* * *

After 10 minutes, a Blue Macaw entered the library.

"Welcome to The Blue Macaw Library how can I help you?" My mother said, smiling at the customer who had just entered.

"Hi, I had booked a cookbook by you on behalf of Sarah." The customer said, looking at my mother.

"Wait a moment I check if it's arrived." My mother said as she turned to the computer and looked through the booking history.

After 20 seconds of searching for the orders on the computer...

"Good news the book arrived yesterday, I call my son for a moment to help you find the book that you have booked." My mother said, looking at Sarah.

"Perfect thank you very much!" Sarah replied happy with the news she had just received.

"Blu! Come here for a moment. "My mother said screaming.

I was rearranging some untidy books and as soon as I heard my name I immediately rushed to help my mother.

"Here I am Mum, what should I do?" I asked.

"Help this lady find the cookbook that arrived yesterday." My mother said pointing at the female macaw.

When I turned to the lady, I was shocked ... she looked a lot like someone I knew ... _'But who…'_ I thought as I tried to recover from the shock.

"Understood, follow me madam, this way." I replied, turning in the direction of the warehouse.

I took her near the warehouse where at the moment there was a pile of books that just arrived and still need to be sorted. Once I arrived in front of a pile of books that still need to be sorted, I hurried to look for the cookbook she was looking for and while I was looking, I heard the lady talk to me.

"Are you helping your parents manage the library?" The lady asked me.

"Oh yes, during the weekend, since I have no school, I take the opportunity to lend a hand(wing) in the family library." I replied with confidence.

"What a responsible boy... out of curiosity, what school do you attend?" Asked the lady.

"I attend the Minnesota High School Institute and I am currently in my last year of the school, moreover thank you very much for the compliments it is my duty to help my own parents, especially if I have free time." I said in the most formal way possible.

A humble and responsible boy, Sarah thought, and what's more, he go to my daughter's school, I wonder if he knows her...

"What a coincidence even my daughter attends that school, her name is Jewel, do you know her?" The lady asked, looking me in the eye.

As soon as I heard that name ... my heart started beating faster and faster and suddenly I lost all my confidence, seriousness and professionalism that I had shown up to that moment.

"Y-y-you are Jewel's mother ?!" I said, very surprised.

"Yes, why? From your reaction, I suppose you know my daughter. "Jewel's mother asked, confused by my reaction.

"Well to be honest, everyone knows your daughter, she is one of the most popular girls in the school if not the most popular." I replied shyly, looking away.

"What?... Jewel never told me this, it's weird, she's usually always honest with me." Jewel's mother replied.

"Despite her popularity, she's a humble girl from what I've seen, she doesn't like to get too much attention." I replied blushing a little...

"I understand now, everything seems clearer." Jewel's mother said, smiling at me.

There was a moment of silence ... _'First she... and now she's mother?! What's going on..._ ' I thought to myself as I hurriedly searched the cookbook.

"Here it is, I finally found it, here's the book you had booked." I said, wiping the sweat from my forehead with my wing.

"Thank you very much you are very kind." His mother said smiling at me again.

"It has been a pleasure to help you." I replied.

Once the book was delivered, Jewel's mother had left the bookstore heading to the restaurant, _'Who would have thought that I would meet her mother among all people? I must say that now... I finally know where Jewel got all her beauty...'_ I thought to myself.

* * *

 **3rd Person POV**

Once Sarah returned to the restaurant, she was immediately greeted by her daughter and husband.

"Ah, here you are, mom, why are you so late?" Her daughter asked in a very annoyed tone.

"Exactly darling why did you take so long?" Asked her husband worriedly.

"Well I'm sorry to have made you wait but I brought the book that I had booked, oh yes Jewel you never told me about Blu, a boy of your own age attending your own school." Her mother said as she headed for the cash desk.

Jewel was paralyzed, her mother met Blu? Why that name was so familiar to her... oh yes, she thought, he was the same bird she had met yesterday at the supermarket ... she would have liked to know him better... she felt that she and Blu had many things in common.

"Unfortunately, I don't know him very much, just by sight, he's a rather shy and reserved guy from what I saw." Her daughter answered as she resumed her work by arranging a few tables.

"What a pity, he is such a humble boy, kind and responsible, I didn't know he was a shy and reserved boy... from the conversation we had he didn't seem at all." Her mother said as she hurried to reach her daughter to help her.

"What did you both talk about out of curiosity?" Asked her daughter, surprised to hear such compliments from her mother and her conversation with Blu.

Her mother was a fairly stiff woman with strangers and sometimes very stubborn, she was very direct if she didn't like someone.

"Well I asked him what school he attended, I asked him if he knew you, but he replied to me just like you did, only by sight he said." Her mother answered while placing glasses and placed on a table.

"I also found out that you are very popular at school, why you never told me that?" Her mother said looking at her daughter.

"Mom... that wasn't important ... I don't like being in the center of the attention." Her daughter said a bit embarrassed.

"Blu was right then, he told me exactly the same thing ... for a guy who knows you only by sight, he seems to know a lot about you" Her mother said even more curious than before.

"What?! What did he tell you about me? "Jewel said, surprised that the boy she had met could know so much about her.

"Well he told me you're a very humble girl and then nothing else, we didn't talk for so long." Her mother said as she placed tablecloth on the table.

... hearing a compliment said by him had a strange effect ... she thought to herself. She was used to receiving compliments from many boy... but to receive them from him... 'Why was so different?' She thought.

"Okay enough talk, let's go back to work, I'm curious to know sooner or later this guy called Blu, if your mother talks so well about him, then he must be a really good guy." Her father said, surprised by the description made by his wife.

After a long evening and after having finished serving all the customers the Blue Macaw family was preparing to clean and then close the place.

"It was another really busy day tonight." Her daughter said, wiping the sweat on her forehead.

"Better like this! right?" Her father said, laughing with his family.

Once the restaurant was closed, the three of them headed for their car and then returned home. Eduardo couldn't help but ask his daughter some uncomfortable questions.

* * *

Jewel POV

"So, daughter, how's it going between you and Roberto?" My father said as he looked down the street in front of him.

"Dad, I've already told you that there's nothing between Roberto and me, we're just friends, I don't understand why everyone thinks we're engaged." I answered with annoy tone.

"Excuse me daughter, but I think just like your father, how come there is nothing between you two? You two looks so happy together. " My mother asked, confused by what i had just said.

"Between us there was no spark, I see Roberto more like a brother and he knows it very well, but despite this, even the whole school thinks we're engaged." I replied, now used to repeat this sentence.

"So, you're still looking for your soul mate?" My father asked sarcastically.

"Yes, dad, for now nobody has impressed me that much..." I replied.

Suddenly after saying those last words ... _'Nobody impressed me that much'_ those words had reminded me of the boy I had recently met at the supermarket ... what does this mean? Why did my head remind me of this memory? ... After all... in a certain sense my head was right, that boy was very mysterious ... from the questions he had asked me, he had given me the feeling that he was hiding something...

"Jewel, everything right? I see you are very thoughtful, is something tormenting you? "My mother asked worriedly.

"Yes I'm fine mom, I was just thinking about one thing ..." I replied looking at the panorama of the city at night.

"What are you thinking, if I may ask you?" My mother asked as she wrapped me in her wings.

"No mom, it's nothing trust me." I answered, trying to be as honest as possible.

"Okay, but if there's something upsetting you, don't hesitate to talk to me about it and your father's too, ok?" My mother said, not convinced of what I had said.

"All right, mom, I'll remember that." I replied.

* * *

Blu POV

Today I woke up early ... in these days many things had happened all together and I wasn't understanding anything anymore, but for now I had only one goal to complete, to finally begin my next book, I will do it not just because I wanted it but also to please my parents who had always believed in me, for my fans who still read my books and for her...

After a quick search on the internet, I had discovered that in 8 months the book fair would be held here in Minnesota, what a luck I thought, but then I thought better... 8 months to write a book... it seems like a lot of time 8 months... but I have a school, I have to help my parents etc... _'Will I be able to complete it in time?'_ I thought.

I decided that I wouldn't backed down, I had to try, then if I couldn't complete it within 8 months there would be other occasions to announce to the world that I came back, having said that I prepared to fill out the registration form, in order to present a book during the fair, once I completed the registration, I sat down in my chair and took out my favorite pen... _'How many memories ... how many sleepless nights I spent on this chair'_ I thought...

In the days that followed, I began to dedicate more and more time to my new book, my goal was to finish it in time for the Minnesota book fair, I realized that in 2 years of inactivity, they had made me much slower and I was spending a lot more time than I expected compared to my previous stories, obviously every story was different from one another... so I made the decision to literally use every single time available to me to continue writing my story.

Soon my dearest people noticed that I was spending more and more time behind pen and paper, especially my parents, but they already knew everything and left me alone.

The problem were my friends... they were still in the dark about everything and honestly, I wasn't ready to confess my secret yet... _'What would they think of me? Would they leave me? Would they laugh at me?'_ I thought, unfortunately I only had negative thoughts at the moment...

After the physical education lesson and once back in class, I felt someone grab my wing with a lot of force, I turned to look at who was holding me.

"Blu, today do you want to come with me and Rafael to do some shopping?" Rebecca asked with a carefree face.

Sometimes I really envied her carefree personality, _'She is always so cheerful ... full of life ... full of energy and always positive...'_ I thought as I looked into her green eyes.

"Excuse me so much Rebecca but these days I'm pretty busy ..." I replied trying to reject her proposal.

"Come on Blu, we'll have fun and then you can get rid of all the stress you accumulate every single day." She said pulling my wing.

 _'Friends... they were and still are one of my anchors that keep me chained to this life, I couldn't afford the risk of losing them ... especially Rebecca and Rafael, they have always been at my side ... they are definitely more precious than my book'_ I thought and finally decided that a little break would only help me feel good.

"Well you're not wrong but just for today huh!" I said, forgetting about my book for the moment.

"Great Blu, we'll have fun and maybe we'll even go and see a movie as long as we're there." Said Rafael putting one of his wings on my shoulder.

* * *

3rd Person POV

While Blu was having that conversation with his friends, he didn't know that his registration form had just been received and much to the organizers surprise, the news had spread everywhere, _'T. Gunderson will publish a new book after having disappeared for 2 years at the next book fair in the city of Minnesota.'_ This was the title that was coming out on the main online newspapers.

Another thing that Blu didn't know, is that another Blue Macaw was going to go shopping and was accompanied by Roberto, Mary and Sofia.

"So, Jewel are you ready or not?" Roberto said in front of a dressing room in a store with a very impatient tone while holding a dozen of clothes his wings.

"Roberto don't even try to hurry me!" Said Jewel from inside the dressing room while trying to pull up the zipper of a dress.

In the meantime, not far from Roberto and Jewel, their two friends who, as usual, were gossiping happily behind them, they were both Scarlet Macaw and were part of the school cheerleader group.

"I don't understand why they keep saying that they are not together... they seem to be made for each other, don't you think the same thing Sofia, right?" Mary asked as she watched the conversation between Roberto and Jewel.

"Oh yes, moreover they know each other since childhood and Roberto is also a friend of the family ... also they are both Blue Macaw ..." Sofia answered while checking her phone.

"Exactly but nevertheless, Jewel keeps saying that they aren't together and it seems that this thing is fine for Roberto, there is something wrong between them." Mary said looking at what Sofia was doing.

"Well, as long as they both agree on this, that's fine, but they're so good together... it's a pity." Sofia said while trying to find both Jewel and Roberto, but it was as if they had disappeared.

"Hey, I heard you." Jewel said from behind her two friends with an irritated face.

The two friends turned immediately and before their eyes there was Jewel, she was really bothered when people were involved in his personal business, but since Mary and Sofia were friends with Jewel, she always tried to turn a blind eye for them.

"How many times do I have to tell you that Roberto and I are just friends? I can understand that it might confuse someone who knows us only by sight, but you two have no excuse! You both know us too well, to know that we're just friends. "Jewel said as she looked at both of her friends straight in the eye.

While the three girls were arguing, another couple formed by Rebecca, Rafael and Blu had arrived at the mall, this was the only shopping center in the town of Moose Lake and it was very crowded.

While the 3 were going upstairs thanks to the escalators, Jewel out of the corner of the eye had glimpsed Blu on the escalator, It's been a weeks she had not seen him again, and in a sense, she felt strangely happy in seeing him but besides him there was a male Toco Toucan and a female Hyacinth Macaw, at that moment she felt a sense of jealousy that she had never had.

 _'Was it even possible that Blu already had a girlfriend? Is she his girlfriend or just a friend?'_ Jewel wondered as she watched the scene. Then, once she came back to herself and calmed down, she thought back to what had just happened, wondering why she felt jealousy... she and Blu didn't even know each other very much, yet her heart at that moment said something else.

Her friends were aware of the change of attitude of Jewel and they were turning their head to see what she was watching, once turned, it was already too late Blu and his friend were already gone upstairs, then overwhelmed by curiosity they were going to ask what Jewel was watching when...

"Here I am Jewel, I finally managed to get out of that queue at the cash desks." Roberto said, delivering a bag to Jewel with the clothes that she had tried before.

In the meantime, upstairs Blu, Rafael and Rebecca were in a shop trying clothes, or rather just Rebecca, because Blu and Rafael were bored while waiting for Rebecca ended up trying her clothes.

"Good thing that 'we'll have fun' cit." Blu said in a very sarcastic tone.

"Come on Blu, with 'we'll have fun', I meant later when we will go to see a movie." Rafael said trying to find an excuse.

"I hope so for you, Rafael, because now I can't wait to get out of this shop." Blu said, snorting.

Rebecca in the meantime had finished buying all the clothes that she liked, once she had paid for everything, she was getting ready to join her two friends who were still waiting for her, but at that precise moment her belly grumbled.

"Hey guys, what about if we go to eat something? I heard that a new restaurant downstairs has just opened! "Rebecca said, smiling as she held her two friends with her wings.

"Excellent idea Rebecca, after standing up and waiting for you, I couldn't wait to fill my stomach," said Blu caressing his belly.

"I agree with what Blu said." Rafael said imitating his friend.

Once that is said, the 3 heads to the dining area downstairs of the mall, ready to satisfy their appetite, they decided to start a discussion just to pass some of the time.

"So how is this school year going?" Rebecca asked as she looked at the windows of some shops.

"As usual, I don't have much difficulty following Professor Edwards lesson." Blu said as he looked around.

"I believe you Blu, you're the best in the class, or maybe even the entire institute." Rafael said laughing how humble his friend was.

"Take away 'maybe', because what you said is the truth." Rebecca said.

"No guys, please don't start again with this story, you both know that I don't like it when you act like this..." Blu said, embarrassed once again by such compliments.

"Okay you chose you to change the subject Blu, then we move on to more serious things for example, did you both had some crush in the meantime?" Rebecca said with a mischievous smile in the direction of his 2 friends.

"During my holidays in Rio De Janeiro I met another toucan named Eva, we talked for a long time and at the end she left me her number, we talk at least 2 times a day now." Rafael said now immersed in his imaginary world where he was fantasizing about his relationship.

"And you Blu? Did you have any other crush?" Rebecca asked, smiling mischievously because she already knew the answer Blu would give.

"You're pretty smart Rebecca, you always know how to make me uncomfortable, but no, I haven't had any other crush since the beginning of the year until now." His Blue Macaw friend answered with confidence.

"And I believe you, you're in love with Jewel from the first day of high school, that's why you haven't had any other crush." Rebecca said, teasing me.

"Rebecca please... now I'm curious, have you had any crush?" Blu asked while looking at Rebecca.

"Well to be honest yesterday I met a Hyacinth Macaw like me... and his name was Alex, he looks like an interesting guy." Rebecca said, blushing.

"Well I'm happy for you Rebecca, I hope he's the right guy for you." Blu said satisfied with Rebecca's response.

"Aww Blu, how romantic you are, I'm sure one day you'll be able to confess your love, trust me, maybe I can even help you if you want." Rebecca said, nudging the flanks of Blu.

"Thanks Rebecca, and you can stay where you are because for now, I don't need you to help me." Blu said while watching a giant TV placed at the top of the mall.

Once arrived at a restaurant, the 3 are immediately greeted by a waiter who immediately brought them the menu.

"Blu, is it true that today you want to offer us the lunch?" Rebecca said sarcastically, looking at her friend as she held the menu in her wings.

"Rebecca, don't even try it, I'm surprised you still have some money after all the clothes you bought." Blu said trying not to meet his gaze with Rebecca.

"Are you telling me I'm POOR?!" Rebecca said irritably.

Blu, seeing the anger concentrating in Rebecca's eyes, began to worry and tried to find a way to calm her.

"Ehm no Rebecca, I was joking..." Blu said, rubbing the feathers of her neck nervously.

"Too late, now you have to find a way to apologize." Rebecca said, smiling mischievously.

"Mmh, I don't know why but I think I already know how this conversation will end up" Rafael said as he watched their conversation.

"I'll help you by doing homework for 3 days." Blu said, thinking it was a fair exchange.

"No thanks, I want you to find a way to apologize properly by today." Rebecca said approaching Blu.

"I guess I got it too, what she wants to achieve, Rafael," Blu said, whispering to Rafael.

"You know how Rebecca is... you put yourself in this mess..." Rafael whispered, putting a wing on Blu shoulder as a sign of compassion.

"Why are you both suddenly whispering in front of me?" Rebecca asked irritably.

"Rebecca... since you've always been kind and sympathetic to me... except when you tease me and embarrass me, I'll offer you the lunch ..." Blu said, defeated by Rebecca's cunning and craftiness.

"Thanks Blu you're the best!" Rebecca said hugging Blu while he remained silent with an impassive face and without of any form of emotion in his face.

After waiting for ten minutes, their dishes had arrived and Rebecca had suddenly received a call and then she had momentarily left their table.

"Rafael, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Blu said in a mischievous tone, having in mind an idea to take revenge on Rebecca.

"I don't like you when you talk in this Blu... every time you speak like this and with this tone it means that you are combining one of yours and I don't want to be part of it" Rafael said trying to get away from his friend.

"Okay, I'll have fun on my own." Blu said while grabbing a container with its wings with a chili pepper on it.

"Be careful Blu ... and think about the consequences ..." Rafael said trying to persuade his friend to do something that he would later regret.

"The consequence of pouring the spicy sauce on Rebecca's salad plate, is just an epic video to be preserved over the years, I'm ready to suffer my consequence if I get that video." Blu said in an evil tone as he unscrewed the cap of the container.

That said, Blu checked if Rebecca had finished the call or not and since she was still on the phone, he poured a large amount of spicy sauce into Rebecca's dish... he immediately realizes he exaggerated a bit too much and tried to mix hastily to cover the evidence... the fact of mixing had definitely helped but the salad had taken on a color that tended to pink.

"Blu what have you done! You put too much of it, as soon as she arrives she'll notice it! "Rafael said while he was sweating like he never did.

"Ehm... what's done is done... now it's up to the video... I hope it's worth it." Blu said as he turned once more to check Rebecca on the phone.

Blu pulled his cell phone from his pocket and placed it in front of him, pointing in the direction where Rebecca had to sit and with a tablecloth he hid it from sight. Rebecca, after another 2 minutes, had finally returned to the table picking up where she left off the conversation.

"That boy I spoke to you earlier, he called me! I don't know how he managed to get my number... but he asked me to go out with him... "Rebecca said, still incredulous of what had just happened.

"But it's fantastic Rebecca! Aren't you happy that you'll having a date with him? " Rafael said, smiling at Rebecca.

"Well yes... I hope he is the right guy for me..." Rebecca said, now immersed in her dream world.

Meanwhile, Blu had remained silent, hoping that Rebecca wouldn't notice the change in the color of her salad.

"Blu, you have nothing to tell me?" Rebecca said, confused by her friend's behavior.

"Ehm... you know it too Rebecca that I have no experience when it comes to dating, I can only wish you luck and hope just like you, that this is the right guy for you." Blu said looking at his two friends sitting near him.

"Aww thank you so much Blu, now enough talk and let's start eating because I'm hungry!" Rebecca said not looking at her plate.

Having said that Rebecca grabbed her fork and began to eat her salad without noticing the color change ... after a short time, she began to sweat from her forehead and her face was becoming increasingly red despite the dark blue feathers she had.

Blu in the meantime couldn't hold back from laughter and not even Rafael, Rebecca's expression was priceless.

"WHAT DID THEY PUT INSIDE THIS SALAD! WHY IS IT SO SPICY?! "Rebecca said as she grabbed the bottle of water in the center of the table.

Blu and Rafael began to burst out laughing at seeing Rebecca drink like crazy, a 1-liter bottle of water. Rebecca still under the effect of spicy sauce looked straight into the eyes of her friends who were still laughing.

"YOU TWO DID THIS, RIGHT?!" She said raising her wings ready to take revenge.

"No, no, I'm innocent." Rafael said not thinking about what he had just said.

"Next time you'll learn to not blackmail me, Rebecca." Blu said, laughing at her friend's red-faced face.

Blu in the meantime had stopped the video and was saving it in the cloud, so he will be able to have it anywhere and at any time, Rebecca, who at that time was completely submerged in anger, began to hit Blu and Rafael with the restaurant menu... that menu was enough heavy and thick and let's say it hurt.

"Why you're also hitting me? I'm innocent!" Rafael said while protecting himself with his wings from the numerous blows inflicted by Rebecca.

"Because you're an accomplice and you covered him! If you were as innocent as you were saying, you should have warned me of what Blu did. "She said justifying what she was doing.

After calming down and having made the restaurant's security guard intervene, the three had to pay an extra sum for having damaged the menu of the place and for having disturbed the customers lunch experience.

"It's all your fault! Why do you both always have to behave like a child? "Rafael said as he touched a bruise on his shoulder.

"Ask her!" Blu said while counting the money he had spent on getting that video.

"That's enough! let's change the topic, are you both ready for the movie? "Rebecca said.

"Yes, let's go..." Blu and Rafael said with bruises on their body.

While the three were leaving the shopping mall, Rebecca had noticed a familiar figure in a shop, sharpening her eyes she had managed to see Jewel, she wasted no time to get the attention of Rafael and Blu.

"Blu, Rafael look who I found." Rebecca said pointing with her wing in the direction of a shop downstairs.

"It's Jewel ... and she's with Roberto and two other friends ..." Blu said, still sad, thinking about what happened a few weeks ago.

"Blu don't worry, I'm sure one day you'll be able to confess your love, if you need help I'm always here for you." Rafael said trying to console his friend.

"The same is true for me as well, if you need help I'm always available, we're like brothers, you're the younger brother while Rafael and I are the older sister and older brother." Rebecca said hugging her two friends.

"Thank you guys... but why do I have to be the younger brother out of the three?" Blu said ignoring the pain of the bruises that were still present on his body.

After this statement the three started laughing and set off for the cinema. After they had finished watching the movie, it was already almost dinner time and they had said goodbye before leaving.

"Thanks guys for this wonderful day, see you tomorrow! And don't you dare telling other bird about what happened today at the restaurant. "Rebecca said as she walked away from her friends towards her house.

"Do you see it Blu? I told you we'd have fun today, maybe not when we were under the fury of Rebecca. "Rafael said, thinking back about what had happened a moment ago.

"You're right Rafael, but next time I choose the movie!" Blu said trying not to think again about his beating.

And so, he ended his day, Blu was heading to the bus stop by himself reflecting on how he could and what he could put in his next book.

Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long, after 2 minutes the bus had arrived, _'It must be my lucky day_ ' he said to himself.

Once he got on, Blu had made himself comfortable at the first available place, having done so, he started to look out of the window as usual, coming back to his thoughts again when suddenly he heard a familiar voice.

He turned and saw that it was the voice of Jewel, who had just greeted his friends as she was about to get on the bus, Blu decided to pretend nothing and not to cross their eyes, unfortunately this plan failed miserably because the bus was quite empty and because of dark blue plumage, he was immediately spotted.

Even Jewel was surprised to see Blu on the bus, but as she had a personality that was exactly the opposite of Blu's, she had no problem with approaching the other birds, but being close to him had a strange effect on her. ... but this thing didn't stop her.

"Blu?" Jewel asked looking at the Blue Macaw.

As soon as Blu had heard someone call him, he already knew that there was no way out, he took the strength and answered as best he could.

"Oh, hello Jewel, why are you here?" Blu replied pretending to be surprised to see her.

"Oh, I could ask you the same thing Blu," said Jewel, sitting next to him.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

The feeling of having Jewel next to me, caused me conflicting feelings, while I was happy to be near her, on the other side I was showing a part of me that I was ashamed of, the shy part of myself.

"T-t-today I came to the mall with some friends to go shopping and then we went to the cinema, so that's why I'm here right now." I said trying not to show any sign of weakness.

* * *

 **Jewel POV**

 _'As soon as I heard the word friends, I took off a big boulder from my heart, it was not Blu's girlfriend but just a friend... what a relief... wait but why do I have to be happy about this? It makes no sense whatever I'm thinking'_ I thought as I looked at him.

"Ah, what a coincidence Blu, I was shopping as well with Roberto, Mary and Sofia." I said trying not to remain silent for too long.

"Really? I hope you've had a nice day then. "He replied smiling at me.

His smile ... it was truly magnificent... with a single gesture he managed in a moment to further improve my day.

Suddenly I remembered that 1 hour before I had read an article from the phone, it was talking about my favorite writer and since Blu also seemed to be passionate about books I decided to talk to him about it.

"Blu did you hear that T. Gunderson started writing again? It seems that he intends to publish his new book during the Minnesota book fair!" I said, showing from my phone the article I was talking about.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

As soon as I heard what she just told me I was speechless... it was supposed to be a surprise and instead, it is clear that as soon as they received my registration form the word spread... I should've seen it coming...

"Really? I'm glad he started writing again! "I said, still unsure whether to continue to lie or not.

"Doesn't this seem strange to you? How come he resumed so suddenly and moreover why here at the book fair in Minnesota... maybe T. Gunderson lives right here in Minnesota! "She said smiling at me.

I no longer knew what an excuse to invent, _'It was actually really strange that a writer who had disappeared from the world of literature suddenly resumes writing and wanting to publish his book at a fair'_ I thought.

"Oh yes there are so many coincidences I think, what do you know about this story?" I said to try to find out how much she knew about me.

"They say that he will present his new book in person, I can't wait to meet him! You don't know how long I'm waiting for this moment! "She said, daydreaming.

 _'I feel really guilty right now ... do I keep this secret for myself or do I confess everything? I'm afraid of letting her down ... maybe it's better to wait a little longer'_ I thought while sitting next to her.

Thanks to my usual luck, the bus had arrived at my stop and this gave me the chance to get out of this uncomfortable conversation, I quickly greeted Jewel saying that I had arrived at my stop.

"Excuse me so much Jewel, I would like to continue this conversation but unfortunately I arrived home thanks a lot for the company," I said as I waved my wing and got off the bus.

"You're welcome, see you tomorrow, ah and my mom thanks you again for the help you gave her in the library." She smiled and waved her wing.

"No problem, it was my duty, bye Jewel." I said while I finally got off the bus.

Once I got off the bus, I had a long sigh, as much as I liked being in her company I knew very well that unfortunately, I couldn't be 100% honest with her ... I knew her well enough but she... she only knew a fraction of me…

 _'For how long could I still keep this secret?'_ I thought as I walked to my house.

* * *

 **Jewel POV**

 _'I have to admit that he's an interesting guy, but something tells me he's hiding something, sometimes he seems very convinced of what he says and sometimes not... who knows why he does it, but I feel satisfied with our conversation'_ I thought while the bus kept going in the direction of my house.

* * *

 **Here we are again, as I said at the beginning I don't know when I will publish the next chapter, I wrote such a long chapter because I will be very busy in the coming weeks, I also decided to put in my profile a kind of table where I will update as often as possible to keep you updated.**

 **I will also put a pool in my profile where you can decide to have longer (you need to wait longer for new chapter) or shorter one (something like 2k to 4k word i think), don't forget to vote. :)**

 **PS: if you don't find the pool... you can always let me know by pm me or leaving a review even if you don't have a FanFiction account.**

 **And remember to review the chapter! It seems pointless... but for me, after 2 days of writing and 5 to 7 hours of translation and proofreading, reading that you all or most of you enjoyed my hard work really makes me happy!**

 **~Fenix139**


	3. The Truth

**AUTHOR NOTES: Hello everyone, if you are reading this chapter, know that I survived one of the most stressful weeks of the year, 3 tests in 5 days should be illegal... returning to more important things... none of you has voted... I'm starting to wonder if you read these author's notes or not.**

 **Thank you again to the three people who have commented on latest chapter, thank you very much, because writing without having feedback from the public... I don't wish it to anyone, I never thought about how important it was to receive feedback... keep on leaving me reviews because it help me to find the motivation to continue my hobby, despite my free time is shrinking more and more.**

 **Regarding the comment of Dovahkiin1412 about the surnames, I had decided from the beginning of the story not to include the surnames for the characters, because for me it is really difficult to think of at least 6 surnames to accompany each individual character... I am one of those people who tries to find a surname that fits well with the name, only the thought of having to find a surname for the family of Jewel, I shudder...**

 **PS: I'm really bad at writing romantic moments... I've always loved reading romantic stories, but having to write one... it's a completely different story...**

 **PPS: I know that a chapter of 10.893 word is literally too overkill... but hey, I won't force you to read all of this in one go, you can read a few thousand words per day. :)**

 **Since none of you has voted, I assume that nobody dislike the length of the chapters, but don't get used... as I said in the first chapter, I have about 50k of story ready, so it's easy for me to write about every 4 - 6 days chapters with almost 10k of words each, this is one of those few chapters that I have almost completely rewritten... now enough talk and I leave you to the third chapter of A Reason To Live.**

* * *

-Chapter 3 The Truth

It was now November, the coldest period of the year was approaching, the leaves on the trees were now almost completely fallen on the ground, ready to be reborn during the spring. This was what I saw from the window of my room while with a wing I quickly sketched the landscape that I had in front of me, in addition to writing, I really liked drawing, obviously it was only a momentary thing, I liked to draw only when I liked what I was looking at.

My drawings remained only to me and helped me to build very realistic landscapes for my stories, my sketches were not very good and let's say I was ashamed to show them to others... it was like a person's calligraphy, everyone has his own and personal way of drawing and writing, there was no right way to do this, it was all a subjective matter.

My life had remained almost the same as before, the only great change that had been there, were my new goals in life, my book continued well, as I had imagined, I had some difficulty to continue at a steady pace, there were days when I felt I could write endlessly, while others in which I could stay all day in front of paper and pen and not be able to throw down any idea.

All this was normal, if I was particularly inspired, I was able to start writing for hours in a row without stopping, this was my life as a writer... seize moments of my own life and replicate them on my own book... I preferred to write stories as realistic as possible, of course, sometimes it felt amazing to get into the world of science fiction... but unfortunately none of this was real... and I learned this at my own expense.

Time literally flew, it was already 1 month since I discovered the existence of the book fair and I began to spend less and less time with my friends, trying to finish this story as soon as possible but that doesn't mean that I am writing all in one breath, of course I checked and reread always what I wrote, the last thing I want was to publish a story written in a hurry.

I had begun to pass the school's break, behind the schoolyard where there was no one who could disturb me, the downside of my idea was to have to convince my friends to leave me alone ... it was getting harder to hide my secret ...

Today was a very cloudy day, which perfectly represented my mood at the time, full of doubts and insecurities... moreover, the gray color made the whole landscape more gloomy and sad. I woke up the same as every day, today I had in mind an idea to confess my secret to my two closest friends... _'But how?'_ I thought, I could no longer avoid them, ignore them as if they had done me something wrong.

I took my bag with spare clothes and shoes, because today there was physical education, after saying goodbye to my parents, I headed for my school. Throughout the lesson, it was as if I wasn't there, I had too many thoughts in my head, but I remained as lucid as possible trying not to worry anyone or at least I thought so...

The teacher of physical education had told us to run around the gym to do the warm-up, it was a simple exercise, _'I didn't have to do anything but just run around the gym'_ I thought...

"Blu? Are you okay? You look very different today." Rebecca asked, looking at me with a worried face.

"Yes... I'm fine, don't worry." I said as I kept running around the gym.

"Blu, you're a very bad liar, you're not at all fine, maybe you're fine physically but you certainly have many doubts and uncertainties inside your head." Rebecca said, getting more and more irritated about my behavior.

 _'You couldn't hide anything from her... she knew me too well... maybe this is the right moment to confess everything?'_ I thought as I looked Rebecca who is right in front of me.

"Blu! Stop with all these secrets, you don't you have to keep everything inside you, remember what I told you when we went shopping ?!" Rebecca said as she grabbed my wing.

* * *

 **Flashback one month ago...**

While the three were leaving the shopping mall, Rebecca had noticed a familiar figure in a shop, sharpening her eyes she had managed to see Jewel, she wasted no time to get the attention of Rafael and Blu.

"Blu, Rafael look who I found." Rebecca said pointing with her wing in the direction of a shop downstairs.

"It's Jewel ... and she's with Roberto and two other friends ..." Blu said, still sad, thinking about what happened a few weeks ago.

"Blu don't worry, I'm sure one day you'll be able to confess your love, if you need help I'm always here for you." Rafael said trying to console his friend.

"The same is true for me as well, if you need help I'm always available, we're like brothers, you're the younger brother while Rafael and I are the older sister and older brother." Rebecca said hugging her two friends.

"Thank you guys... but why do I have to be the younger brother out of the three?" Blu said ignoring the pain of the bruises that were still present on his body.

 **Flashback end**

* * *

"Yes Rebecca ... you're right when you say that I have doubts and uncertainties inside my head ... I'm afraid of your reactions if I confess what I'm hiding." I said as I looked at Rebecca's green eyes. Not far from us, Rafael had witnessed our conversation and had approached to calm both of us.

"Guys, calm down" Rafael said, releasing me from Rebecca's grip.

"Blu! Why don't you trust us? These 5 years of friendship doesn't mean anything to you?! After all the adventures and misadventures that we went through... you still have doubts about trusting us or not?!" Rebecca said with tears in her eyes.

I never expected such a reaction on her part... she was a girl with a very lively character and sometimes even aggressive... but this side of her ... I had not seen her like this yet... I didn't know she cared so much about me... her tears were sincere... they weren't mere tears before my eyes... many times when people don't know how to express themselves or what words to say in difficult moments, they rely on tears... in my opinion, _'The purest form of expression we have...'_

How I managed to be so reckless... _'I'm a writer and I'm used to express in the best possible way, all the feelings of my characters... but to seeing in front of you... one of your dearest friends cry because of you... it literally breaks your heart...'_ I thought as I looked away from my friend.

 _'I'm a monster... I managed to make the situation even worse... I don't deserve them... They'll be better without me...'_ I thought as I looked at Rebecca in tears, Rafael tried to console her and gave me a look of disappointment as if I had disappointed them.

"Blu... I think you're smart enough to understand why Rebecca reacted this way." Rafael said as he looked me straight in my eye.

"Now... what's done is done, it makes no sense for me to hide any longer, come during the break in the schoolyard, once there I will tell you everything you need to know about me" I said as I turned away and heading to the locker room.

* * *

 **Rebecca POV**

"Do you know why he's behaving like this lately?" I asked Rafael as I watched Blu go alone to the locker room.

"I don't know why... but I would love to know, lately it is as if he were avoiding us, as if we had wronged him..." Rafael answered as he helped me to dry my tears.

 _'Blu... Why do you behave like that? If you were offended by what I did to you during our lunch at the restaurant or for all the times I embarrassed or teased you... I'm really sorry..._ ' I thought as I looked at the sky growing darker and deeper.

Once I took off the gym clothes and returned to class, I saw Blu already at his desk in silence while looking out the window, he had always been a stubborn bird, when he convinced himself that something had to go in a certain way, no one could make him change his idea.

Rafael and I decided to leave him alone, to give him his personal space and to wait patiently for the break and consequently discover the real reason why he was behaving in this way.

He had always been a very reserved bird... like the first day I met him... I still remember that he was sitting alone at his desk without speaking to anyone...

* * *

 **Flashback five years ago…**

 _'Finally! the first day of school!'_ I thought as I ran out of my house towards my new school.

I saw a lot of new faces along the way and I couldn't wait to make new friends, arrived in front of my new school, there was a large crowd of birds in front of the school's billboards where there were written the list of all students name divided by each class.

I didn't waste a lot of time and I immediately ran in front of everyone, ready to find my new 'Family' and yes... _'I always considered each of my class as a family... each one of us had a goal to achieve, but we all had a common goal... that goal was to get to the diploma, but to overcome all the various obstacles that were present along the way, there was the class... every single member of my class was like a member of my new family, we had fun, we joked, we quarreled... but in the end we were always together... on our journey towards the end of our school career... I can't wait to spend another 5 years of my life with them... in the hope of being able to make friends that would last over time...'_ I thought as I was running like a crazy in in the front of the school's billboards.

Once I found my name and once read my new 'Home' I ran to get there... _'I couldn't wait to get to know them'_ I thought as I rushed in the middle of the crowd of students in the corridor.

Arrived in front of the class, I entered and immediately began to meet my new classmates... I became friends with almost all of them, but there was still one left... he was a Blue Macaw, you couldn't often see birds like him... I heard that there were in total, not more than 30 in the whole school... _'Definitely a special bird'_ I thought as I approached him.

"Don't you want to meet your new family?" I asked smiling at him.

"Uhm... new family? What do you mean by that? " He replied, confused by my question.

"Each one of us has our own personal goals but we all have one in common, that is to get to the diploma and to get to that, we will do it together! just like a real family that helps each other!" I said, smiling and looking at him.

"I have to admit that you have a very particular vision of the school... I never thought of the school in this way... but how can you tell that this will be a united class?" He asked looking at me.

"You don't have to start already pessimistic, neither of us can be sure, but if you don't try... if you don't try, you'll never know, it seems obvious that if you are all alone, isolated from the class, you will create a vision of class, completely different from the others... and anyway, my name is Rebecca. "I said while I stretched my wing for the greeting.

"You're a very special and unique bird... Rebecca... I've never met anyone like you... my name is Blu" Blu said, shaking his wing with mine.

"Now get up and come with me, I'll introduce you to the class." I said as we exchanged a handshake(wing).

I saw his face very reluctant, but I wasn't surprised, I was firmly convinced that behind this shy and insecure bird... there was a completely different bird... a bird that couldn't wait to go out... a bird who wanted to see life from a new point of view...

From that day on we have always been together... very soon, Rafael joined to our group, not a day passed when we didn't smile, we didn't have fun, we didn't fight... a friendship was born that day... a friendship that I always wanted... a friendship that would last for our entire life...

 **Flashback end**

* * *

 **Blu POV**

 _'How could I make Rebecca cry? How can I not trust them? Immediately after my parents, they were and still are the people who knew me best...'_ I thought as I followed the lesson.

Today was certainly not a happy day, the fact that the sky was so dark and cloudy, certainly didn't help to cheer me up, once I finished the lesson, I went immediately out in the classroom heading to the bathroom. I rinsed my face 3 or 4 times to prepare for my speech and when I was ready, I headed for the schoolyard.

I walked along long corridors full of students who were having fun, as the weather forecasted rain for today, they were all inside the building, _'I envy them, each one of them... I want to be so carefree too... but I know very well that I'm leading a double life...'_ I thought as I watched them laugh and joke with each other.

Once arrived in the schoolyard, it was completely empty, I was practically alone inside a large yard, I sat on a kind of concrete sofa waiting for my friends _'Or maybe it was better to say ex-friends...'_ I thought as I was looking around me.

I didn't have to wait long, after not even 2 minutes, I saw them in the distance approaching me, _'Now or never again'_ I thought as I was able to distinguish more and more of their body shapes.

"Blu, now you have to tell us everything, do you understand?" Rafael said, looking straight in my eye.

Meanwhile, Rebecca was silent... we hadn't crossed our eyes yet, _'Now our friendship was over'_ I thought... when suddenly.

"There cannot be a relationship of friendship if there is no trust for each other, you can either tell us what is happening to you or you can consider our friendship ended." Rebecca said finally looking at me.

"You're right Rebecca, friendship is based on the mutual trust of two or more birds, I didn't want to go so far as to make you cry... I apologize and now I'm ready to tell you everything." I said as I looked at the darkening sky.

Suddenly I heard a rumble of thunder and I realized that I didn't have much time, the wind was getting louder and stronger, those few leaves that had managed to resist attached to the trees up to that moment, were swept away mercilessly by the wind.

"I have a double life" I said trying to speed things up.

"What do you mean Blu?" Rafael asked me as he looked at me with a confused look.

What I didn't know at that moment, was that someone else was watching us at that moment, that person was Jewel, she was intrigued by the fact that we were outside in the schoolyard, on a rainy day.

* * *

 **Jewel POV few minutes earlier...**

 _'Perfect... I should had listened to my mother... why didn't I take the umbrella on a day like this?'_ I thought as I looked out the window.

As I watched the sky growing darker, I saw 3 silhouettes in the schoolyard... I had no doubts, they were Blu and his 2 friends, _'But why were they in the schoolyard on such a day?'_ I thought as I looked at them from the window of my class.

It's been a month since the last time I had the opportunity to talk with Blu... no one had ever managed to intrigue me as much as he did... he was such a mysterious guy... unlike any other bird I've ever met...

* * *

 **Flashback Few weeks ago...**

"Jewel, are you free today? Would you like to come with me and Sofia to the new store in the city square? "Mary said as she was texting on the phone.

"Of course Mary, today after school?" I said as I began heading to my class.

"All right, then I'll wait for you out of school with Sofia then!" Mary said waving and waving her wing.

Having said that I saw Mary return to her class, ah what a beautiful day, _'Today the sun shines more than ever and is also quite windy, the right mix for an ideal day outdoors'_ I thought as I headed for my class.

When I arrived at the corridor that would take me to my class, there were 3 other birds in the corridor with me, as soon as they saw me, it was as if they were waiting for me.

They were 3 Military Macaws, they were in this school for at least 7 years, _'I'm surprised that they are still allowed to stay in this schools after all the naughty stuff they did_ ' I thought, as soon as they saw me, they had formed a grimace on their face and they approached me.

"Hey, your name is Jewel, right?" One of the three Military Macaw said.

"Yes, you are correct, were you looking for me?" I asked, unaware why they were waiting for me.

"So the voices were correct, you're really beautiful, would you like to come with me for a date today?" Said the Military Macaw.

"No thanks, today I have already something to do and what's more you're not my type," I said as I walked along the corridor, ignoring them.

"Hey, nobody refuses an appointment with our boss!" Another Military Macaw said holding my wing.

"Let me go now! or you'll end up in big trouble, "I said, threatening them.

"Otherwise? What are you going to do? Accept the appointment of our boss and everything will be fine, "said the third Military Macaw.

"You'd better go out with me Jewel, it's really strange that someone like you is still without a boyfriend." The Military Macaw boss said.

"You should immediately apologize or I'll have to teach you how to treat a girl," A voice said behind us 4.

Suddenly, we all four turned to the source of the voice, before our eyes there was Roberto, he had a definitely not a friendly expression.

"What are you doing here Roberto?" I said as I freed myself from the grip of the Military Macaw.

"I came here looking for you, Jewel, I didn't see you go back to class and as I imagined, you weren't alone ..." Roberto said looking at the three Military Macaws.

"Look who is here, Roberto, do I have to teach you by chance who command in this school?" The Military Macaw boss said.

"Exactly, no one can stand up against our boss and pass it smoothly!" Said the other Military Macaw.

"I don't care about who you are and what you want to do, i can't allow you to treat a girl like that." Roberto said, putting himself between me and the Military Macaws.

"Otherwise? What are you going to do? Challenge the three of us when you are alone? "Said the third Military Macaw.

The situation was getting worse and worse, Roberto was definitely ready and willing to fight... but it's a three against one... he will be certainly hurt... I can't stand here and watch without doing anything... _'That's right, I'll go and call the professor'_ I thought as I ran towards the professor's room.

"Hey! Where are you going!" A Military Macaw said, trying to stop me.

"Stay where you are, you'll have to go over my body if you want to reach Jewel," Roberto said as he put himself in a fighting position.

"Roberto! Stay safe! I'm going to call for help from the professor" I said as I ran toward the professor's room.

While I was running, I couldn't think of what would happen if I returned too late... I can't allow those 3 clowns to hurt Roberto... _'Why? Why don't the others birds leave me alone? I've always been courted by lots of birds but nobody has ever come this far...'_ I thought as i ran towards the professor's room.

When I arrived at the professor's room, I saw Professor Edwards at his desk while he was correcting some test.

"Professor Edwards! Please follow me! Roberto and I need your help against 3 Military Macaws in the north corridor of the school!" I screamed to get his attention.

"What?! Take me to them right away! "The professor said as he suddenly stood up from his chair and leaped out of the professor's room.

This... were the longest seconds of my life, I was literally running as fast as I could with the professor, _'Roberto, please... stay safe...'_ I thought with tears coming out of my eyes.

 _'It was all my fault... if only I had immediately changed road as soon as I saw them... all this would not have happened... but now it is useless to think about it... what is done is done, now I must make up for my mistake!'_ I thought between me as we approached Roberto more and more.

Once we arrived at the corridor, I saw Roberto surrounded in the corner of the wall, he had bruises all over his body, but he wasn't the only one who is wounded, even the three Military Macaws were bruised, _'Certainly he must give a good fight to be able to keep up the three of them'_ I thought as I reached them.

"THAT'S ENOUGH! STOP! "Professor Edwards shouted, getting in the middle of the 4.

"Professor Edwards..." Roberto said with all the strength left to him.

"YOU THREE COME IMMEDIATELY WITH ME IN THE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL OFFICE!" The professor said with a very intimidating look.

If there was one thing certain about this school, it was certainly to never argue or fight against Professor Edwards, he was not just a professor, he was in the Marines, after retiring, he started to teach and he was very experienced in close combat, no one had ever thought to stand against him... in short, he was feared by the whole institute.

"You're lucky Roberto, but next time you will not get away with it," said the Military Macaw boss as he walked away from us with the professor.

"THERE WILL NEVER BE A NEXT TIME!" Said Professor Edwards turning him towards the Military Macaw.

"Jewel, please, can you take Roberto to the infirmary? I'll take care of these three thugs and one last thing... please... don't spread the word about what happened, I'll take care of it myself. "The professor said to me as he turns around and heading to the principal office with the three Military Macaw.

 **Flashback end**

* * *

I had never been more worried like that day... Professor Edwards had returned a few minutes later telling us that those three guys had been expelled from the institute, he had asked me to not tell anyone what happened that day because he didn't want to create panic inside the institute...

Nobody knows this story except for me, Roberto, the professor and the school principal... all the other people are unaware of what happened... Roberto had immediately recovered, he had received only a few bruises nothing serious fortunately.

Roberto has always been like a brother to me... a guardian... a guardian angel... we knew each other from an early age, he always protected me and helped me make the right choice, even though many times I was very stubborn, he was like the brother I never had...

In addition, he was always available to help me, during the third year, I began to deny the rumors that they gave us for engaged, initially I was very annoyed and bothered, but seeing that the courtships were drastically dropped, I decided to take part in this act without never doing nonsense with him, he knew it very well, he played along the game while I never stopped looking for my soul mate...

 _'Enough with the past ... I just want to see what those 3 are doing in the schoolyard'_ I thought to myself as I stared at Blu along with her two friends.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

"I'm a writer, and I've been for 5 years, technically 3 but doesn't matter" I said while looking at my two friends. It happened what I would never expected, Rebecca, once she heard this, she slapped me in the face with her wing and told me...

"Was this really what you were hiding? Were you afraid to tell us that you were a writer? Rebecca said while I had fallen on the ground because of the slap she had given me.

I saw Rafael holding her from beating me up... _'Rebecca wasn't wrong... I wasn't a thief or a murderer... why should I be afraid to confess that I was a writer?'_ I thought as I recovered from the shock.

"Wait a moment Blu, did you say you've been a writer for 5 years? Does that mean you've started since the day we met?" Rafael asked me, helping me to get back on my feet.

"Yes Rafael, but I only started after meeting you..." I said, looking away from my friends.

"If you're really a writer, why didn't you ever tell us that? You lied to your best friends for 5 years I don't know if you realize it!" Rebecca said, still irritated by my behavior.

"You're right, Rebecca, let's say I'm not just any writer, and you've probably heard of me..." I said, still not sure if I was doing the right thing.

"Spit it out! We don't have all the time in the world!" Rebecca said, ready to hit me again.

"I'm T. Gunderson and the reason I'm avoiding you lately is because I'm writing my new book." I said in one breath, I felt all the weight on my conscience disappear in that moment.

There was a moment of silence, I saw the faces of my friends turn pale, _'They're just surprised, right?'_ I thought between myself, looking at their faces. But this silence didn't last long because it began at that precise moment to rain, we hadn't wasted time and we all rushed towards the school's entrance, once we got inside, none of us had enough breath at that moment to resume our conversation.

* * *

 **Jewel POV**

I had witnessed the whole scene, it was undoubtedly a conversation that was anything but friendly and the slap of Rebecca had literally shocked me... _'I wonder what they said to each other at that moment'_ I thought while watching them run inside the school's entrance because of the rain.

 _'I don't know what Blu had done... but to receive such a reaction from a friend of his...'_ I thought to myself, coming back to my desk.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

Once recovered from the race we had just made, I waited for an answer from my friends about my revelation, I didn't have to wait long for it because they immediately started flooding me with questions.

"Blu... do you have any proof that you really are T. Gunderson? I would love to believe you blindly... but I would like some proof for not having any doubts..." Rebecca said looking at me.

"If you want I can show you the registration email at the Minnesota fair or all the mails I exchanged with my book publisher, if you come to my house I can show you all my bad copies of all my books ... now I have nothing more to hide and I'm glad it went like this ..." I said, giving my phone to Rebecca and Rafael.

I saw their excited faces as they scrolled through all the emails I had exchanged with my book publisher and after two minutes...

"YOU ARE REALLY T. GUNDERSON ?!" Rebecca said hugging me very forcefully and shaking me very quickly.

"REBECCA! CALM DOWN! YOU ARE CHOKING HIM!" Rafael said as he held her firmly.

"WHY DID YOU TRY TO CHOKE ME ?!" I said as I recovered from the act of violence.

"Because I'm one of your biggest fans, that's why." She said hugging me.

"Are you going crazy or what? First you try to kill me and now you are hugging me?" I said trying to move her away from me.

"I agree with Blu, Rebecca are you sure that you're not the one who doesn't feel alright?" Rafael asked looking at her.

"I've always dreamed of getting to know T. Gunderson, and now you're telling me he's been my friend from the beginning? I read all your books, I had surrendered to the facts that you had disappeared and now you are telling me that I have always been so close to my IDOL?!" She said as she tried to grab me.

"Yeah... she's definitely gone crazy" I said whispering to Rafael.

"Enough Rebecca, I don't know what's going on, but the name of T. Gunderson is familiar to me, although I don't read any books except those of the school's, I've already heard this name from my mother, and she's a big fan of yours, there was a moment that she was literally obsessed with your books" Rafael said stopping Rebecca from reaching me.

"Guys ... now that you know everything ... I wish you kept this secret until the day of my presentation of my book, you know perfectly why I don't want the word to spread" I said as I approached my two friends.

"You don't like being in the center of attention, right?" Rafael said as he looked at me.

"Exactly, I imagined such a reaction on your part ... but the thing that surprised me the most was Rebecca's reaction." I said while looking at Rebecca.

"Don't worry T. Gunderson, your secret is safe between us, besides you haven't told us why you stopped writing for 2 years." Rebecca said, smiling mischievously.

"I'll tell you this another time... I think for today I had already revealed enough of me." I said.

At that precise moment the bell rang, once again I was saved from my usual luck, we returned to class, _'I had finally managed to confess my secret... now I could be sincere in front of them...'_ I thought as I sat down to my desk.

At the end of the school, it was still raining very hard, Rebecca and Rafael were in a hurry and returned home immediately, I took it easy, once i pulled out my umbrella, i was ready to go home but then... I saw a familiar face in the middle of the crowd of students... it's her...

I saw her with a worried face, _'Surely she had forgotten the umbrella'_ I thought as I watched her, then I approached her to make sure everything was all right.

"Jewel? Why are you still here?" I said as I was approaching her with my umbrella.

"Blu? Why didn't you go back home yet?" She said surprised to see me.

"I was just about to go home, don't tell me that you're without an umbrella?" I asked, looking into her turquoise eyes. It was useless, I would never get tired of staring into her eyes...

"Ehm... yes... I forgot my umbrella and now I don't know how to get home... my father and mother are unfortunately very busy at the moment... I think I'll wait here until it stops to rain." She said looking at the gloomy sky.

'It's my chance' I thought, it was useless to flee forever, now I have the opportunity to know her better and I will not miss a chance like that.

"Don't talk nonsense, I'll take you home if you don't mind, my umbrella is big enough for us two." I said smiling at her.

* * *

 **3rd Person POV**

 _'His smile... he had definitely brightened my day... and then... I really want to know him better... especially after what I saw today at the window'_ Jewel thought while looking at Blu.

"Thanks Blu, I am very grateful to you for this favor!" Jewel said immediately going under Blu's umbrella.

"Don't worry, come on let's go home." He said, putting himself more to the side to give her enough space under the umbrella.

They immediately headed towards the restaurant of Jewel, the streets were almost completely empty, the only things that were seen, were only the cars that occasionally passed and some pedestrian who was hurrying to find shelter under the rain. The rain was incessant and it seemed like it would last for a long time...

 _'I must admit that we are really close to each other and this made me slightly embarrassed but I didn't have much choice at the moment... besides I saw that he wasn't at his ease too, I saw him blush many times when our feathers rubbed each other'_ She thought to herself.

The more time passed, the more Jewel couldn't contain herself from asking what had happened today during the break, it was stronger than her... that slap of Blu's friend had literally surprised her and she wondered what Blu did to deserve that... until she finally took some courage and asked him...

"Blu... today I saw you in the schoolyard with your friends... let's say I saw the whole scene and if you don't mind... could you tell me what happened?" Jewel said, looking at him.

 _'She had heard everything... but why did these things only happen to me? Maybe it was a sign of destiny... maybe now it's the right time to get rid of my secret...'_ Blu thought to himself.

"Jewel ... today I confessed a secret to my friends, let's say that initially they didn't take it well but once I cleared up everything, they understood me and supported me" Blu said while watching some boys running in the rain.

"Ah, I see... I'm happy that everything went well in the end" Jewel said with a dubious face as she stared out into space.

 _'It was obvious, she wanted to know what secret it was, but let's say she knew that asking me something like this would only lead to a discussion that could eventually lead to a fight...'_ Blu thought as he looked at her facial expression.

"Do you want to know what secret I'm talking about?" Blu asked as he tilted his umbrella, as not to let the wind take it away from him.

"If you don't mind, yes... only if you want it, of course if you don't want to tell me then it's okay" Jewel said, a little embarrassed by her behavior.

"Sometimes you're really funny Jewel... I've revealed to my friends that I'm a writer." Blu said, smiling as they crossed an intersection.

Jewel at that moment was as if she were paralyzed, she had suddenly stopped, as a result, even Blu had stopped to wait for her and it couldn't be said that she wasn't surprised to hear such a revelation.

"A writer? Would you mind explaining yourself better? Have you already published books?!" Jewel asked intrigued by the revelation of Blu.

"Are you sure you want to know this part of me? I warning you that it could be a really big shock... you saw how my friend Rebecca reacted." Blu said as he stared into her eyes.

 _'What did he mean by that? Why should I be shocked by knowing his author's pen name? Actually, the reaction of his friend Rebecca was really strong... but I have to know... I want to know more about him...'_ Jewel thought.

"Yes Blu... I want to know your secret..." Jewel asked timidly as she started walking again.

Blu drew a long sigh as he looked around him, he knew very well that this was perhaps one of the most important moments of his life and that he must manage it as well as possible.

"I'm T. Gunderson" Blu said, stopping at an intersection due to the red light.

 _'I was speechless... my favorite author was in front of my eyes ... it was always him... that's why every time I talked about T. Gunderson he immediately changed expression and way of speaking... but why? Why keep me in the dark about everything? I don't understand... I have to ask him'_ She thought as she tried to recover from the news she had just received.

"I... I don't understand... why you never told me? Why you lied to me too... "She said, not knowing what to do anymore.

"No one knows that I am T. Gunderson, until now only my parents knew it and a few hours ago I confessed it to my dearest friends Rafael and Rebecca, because I couldn't avoid them without giving them a valid reason." Blu said as he was trying to cover Jewel with his umbrella.

"But why does your true identity must have to remain secret? I don't understand." She asked, getting closer to Blu so she won't get wet from the rain.

"Jewel, you're smart enough to get it on your own... I'm sure you can guess it..." Blu replied smiling at her.

"I still cannot believe that T. Gunderson is attending my own school, he is one of my peers and finally that he is right next to me..." Jewel said while looking at Blu.

"I know Jewel... even my friends have had a similar reaction to yours..." Blu said trying to console her.

"Why, why did you disappear into thin air for 2 years without any warning?" Jewel asked, looking at the sky where she could see some lightning in the distance.

"My friends asked me the same question but I still haven't answered them... but since I have no more reason to hide it, I will tell you the reason why I started writing 5 years ago, i started writing because I found my muse... my muse that has inspired me every single story of mine from that day on, as you can imagine I stopped 2 years ago because I lost my motivation and therefore my muse..." Blu said, remaining silent to listen to the sound of the rain that in that moment was helping him to relax.

"Your muse? Is a girl your inspiration perhaps?" Jewel said Looking Blu in his hazelnut eyes.

 _'As I imagined, Jewel was really smart, you cannot hide anything from her... just like Rebecca... my heart was beating faster than ever... I wondered if this was the right moment to confess everything I've been hiding for 5 years...'_ Blu thought in his mind.

"As I imagined, you're really smart and I can't hide anything from you... I'm sorry to have lied to you until now... I hope my lies didn't make you upset..." Blu said while trying to avoid hitting other birds with his umbrella.

* * *

 **Jewel POV**

 _'I knew it... I always suspected that T. Gunderson had a kind of feminine inspiration, his books are mostly romantic with the main theme, love...'_ I thought as I was still struggling to believe that he was really T. Gunderson...

"Blu... do you have any proof that can prove you're really T. Gunderson? Sorry if I'm very suspicious... "I said while trying to stay as close to him as possible not to get wet.

"I can show you my registration form... my emails with my publisher and if you care so much... I can also show to you all the various bad copies of my books and even alternative endings that have never been published... now I have nothing more to hide, if you want to know something, just ask me Jewel. "He said as he pulled out the phone and handing to me as he watched some birds run to get to the bus.

"No Blu... you don't need to do that, although I know you very little... you managed to have a good impression with my mother, something not simple at all and then... you look like a very honest and sincere bird... I don't need you to show me all the evidence." I said, smiling at him.

"Resuming the discussion from where we left it off, I realized you had a feminine inspiration from the recurring themes in your stories, love ... most of your stories revolve around this theme... but that doesn't explain why you disappeared so suddenly at the height of your career..." I asked to him, not leaving him the time to answer.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

 _'Smart girl, very gorgeous, open-minded and much more... my father was right to tell me to not to let her go without confessing my feelings... being so close to her under this incessant rain was... magnificent... I find the sound of the rain extremely relaxing and very satisfying, nothing beats the most classic sound of nature... the sound of life because everything started from the water... and who knows... maybe under this incessant November's rain... I would be reborn and my life forever changed...'_ I thought as I looked at her turquoise eyes.

 _'I can't resist anymore... every second that passes, I fall more and more in love with her... now I have the confirmation that she's the right girl for me...'_ I was so intent to admire her beauty that I remained silent for more than necessary and Jewel has noticed it...

"Blu? "Jewel said, putting her wing on my shoulder.

 _'Is this the right time or do I have to wait any longer? I don't think I can keep my last secret for a long time... I have to confess my love...'_ I kept thinking without noticing that she was worried about me.

"Blu are you there? Wake up! "Said Jewel shaking me vigorously.

She was very strong, she almost managed to make me fall with the umbrella in my wing... luckily I had some pretty good reflexes and I managed to keep my balance. However, I still didn't managed in giving her an answer...

* * *

Jewel POV

 _'It was as if he had been charmed by me... wait a moment... could this means that I was his muse of inspiration? At the mere thought my heart beat at rhythms that I would never have thought possible... things after all made sense... he started 5 years ago... when we were both in the first year, he began to write inspired by a girl and every time I am close to him... he behaves strangely as if he need to say something but cannot find the courage... I have to know it...'_ I thought to myself.

"Blu... I'm your muse of inspiration, right?" I asked with a flushed face but managing to cover it with my wing.

I saw in his eyes a sense of fear and shock mixed together, he was certainly speechless and I am too... _'But he hasn't denied me... I'm really his muse? Sometimes silence is worth more than a thousand of words... to remain silent in front of such a question meant only one thing...'_ I thought as I was looking away from him because I was very embarrassed at that moment.

"So, it's true Blu, I've always been your muse of inspiration from the beginning..." I said as I continued to look him straight into his eye.

Blu didn't answer but he nodded, _'I need nothing else... that was more than enough for me... no one had ever done something like that... he kept everything inside himself for 5 years... who knows how he felt when the other birds were courting me... maybe he felt just like me when I saw him at the mall with his girlfriend who then turned out to be only a friend...'_ I thought.

"Blu? One last question... you still haven't told me why you quitted for 2 years." I asked with a slightly flushed face.

"I stopped when I saw you and Roberto together... I always regretted the fact that I never managed to confess my feelings... when I saw you so happy with him I convinced myself that you would have been happier with him than with me, so I decided to leave everything behind just because I had no more reason to continue." He said, dropping a few tears from his hazelnut eyes.

"But everything changed when we first talked at the supermarket, I never imagined that you appreciated so much my books, once I got back home I confessed everything to my parents and they helped me motivating me to not give up, to fight if necessary... then I decided to resume writing but you weren't my only motivation... even my parents and also all my fans who have never stopped hoping for my future return... you all are my new motivation..." He said looking up at the still dark sky.

 _'My mother was right, Blu is really a mature, responsible and humble boy, one like him can't be found every day and moreover I am also a fan of his... his tears... they only gave me confirmation of what he is saying... he was sincere right now... surely he was really struggling to tell me all of this...'_ I thought as I tried to recover from Blu's speech.

"Blu... I don't know what to say... so this means you're in love with me?" I said feeling my face redder than ever... I had never felt this feeling... despite all the courtship I received during these 5 years, I didn't never think about how it felt to be on the other side... I had never felt and tried to be really embarrassed by being close to someone...

 _'I could easily see the facial expression of Blu, from a relaxed expression after confessing everything to pure shock, but inside me I really hoped he would say yes... I don't know why... maybe I fell in love with him too? Was he really the one I've been looking for so long?'_ I thought as I was looking at him waiting for the three magical word...

* * *

 **Blu POV**

 _'Now or never again, as my father told me... I am more convinced than ever that this is really true love... surely, I would never have had another chance like this, not confessing my love right now... it equals to giving up the girl I love... to the girl of my life and I didn't want this... I have to do it...'_ I thought as I prepared to say the fateful answer.

"Yes Jewel, from the first moment I saw you and from that day on, I've always loved you more and more, I thought it was just a temporary thing... but it wasn't... for 5 years I never stopped thinking about you... to think about our possible relationship together... to our possible life together... I know I'm running maybe too ahead... but I'm just listening to what my heart is saying... I thought you were one of those girls, all beauty and no brain but I was wrong and this conversation is the proof for that. "I said looking into her eyes as I had never done before, if I had seen myself in the mirror I would surely be surprised of the seriousness and confidence that I was showing at that moment.

I saw Jewel's face in tears... _'I didn't know if they were tears of joy or not... I still didn't know yet whether or not she shares my same feelings... but having finally managed to confess everything was... one of the best sensations in the world'_ I thought as I was wiping some tears off her turquoise eyes.

"Thank you, Blu... no one had ever made a speech to me like that." Said Jewel and hugging me between her cerulean wings, _'It all seems so surreal... but I wasn't dreaming... I could clearly hear the sound of her heartbeat... our hearts were beating at the same pace... was this another sign that we were made for each other?'_ I thought as I returned her hug.

 _'The time around us had stopped, at that precise moment I didn't care about anything else... at that moment I just wanted to be near her... stay with her and never leave her...'_ But I am well aware that this can't be done right now... it was impossible... once the hug ended we set off again towards Jewel's restaurant.

 _'I didn't know what to say, was she really hugging me? We never had been so close... I thought that being in the rain and under the same umbrella... was the moment when I could possibly stay the closest to her... but a hug... it might seem trivial, but many times it means a lot... many times when you don't know how to express yourself or what to say, you rely on the dearest and oldest sign of affection in the world... how soft was her plumage... and she's scent almost made me faint...'_ I thought as I was still recovering from her hug.

While I was thinking about it, we had arrived at her restaurant, she didn't waste time and immediately entered, _'I couldn't know if she shared my same feelings or not... what did this mean? Didn't she love me? So why did she said thank you and hugged me?'_ These were the doubts that afflicted me in that moment...

I decided to leave her alone for now, surely she needed some time to reflect about everything that happened today... I didn't blame her, receiving such news one after another would make everyone confuse and unsure about what to do...

I prepared myself to go home, also because in the meantime, it still hadn't stopped raining... _'Finally free, free from all sorts of doubt except one of course, at least I tried, if she doesn't share my same feelings then it's fine... I can't force her to stay with me if she doesn't want to...'_ I thought as I walked under the rain with my umbrella.

I decided to share the news with my friends over the phone, I was really euphoric at that time, I just wanted to share the good news with those who have always been close to me. I wrote a long message to a group where there was both Rafael and Rebecca, I wrote in a very comprehensive way the conversation between me and Jewel from my point of view.

"Are you seriously worried that Jewel doesn't love you? It seems so obvious to me that she does, perhaps it may take some time before she says those magical words that you are waiting so eagerly." Rafael wrote to me.

"Rafael is right, I agree with him, come on Blu don't think too much, you took a very big step today and you'll see that everything will be fine." Rebecca wrote to me.

"Thanks guys, as usual, you know how to make me feel better." I wrote.

"Blu... I forgot to apologize for the slap I gave you in the schoolyard ..." Rebecca wrote.

"Don't worry Rebecca, no remorse, I deserved it, and then... you both will always be the older brother and the older sister I've never had." I wrote to them.

"Blu... now I understand how you can say the right thing at the right time... now i finally see why you are a writer... you know how to create suspense, see how you did when you told us to go to the schoolyard etc... I'm happy to be your friend" Rafael wrote to me.

"The same thing is true for me, since the first day I saw you in class, I knew very well that inside you, there was a part of you that you didn't even know to have yet, if you have any problems, know that we will always be by your side..." Rebecca wrote.

"... you were right Rebecca ... in our class I found a new family ... see you tomorrow, now I have to go." I wrote while I put the phone in my pocket. _'What I had done to deserve friends like them'_ I thought.

Now I'm really free of all thought... the fact of having managed to confess my love is a huge step forward, at the end of this day, the day that was supposed to be the worst of my life has turned into the best one.

 _'Life is really strange... you'll never know what awaits you... but isn't this the funny thing of life? The fact that it is unpredictable... someday you can be a simple person unknown in the world... and the day after a celebrity...'_ I thought as I was watching some shopkeeper cleaning the wet floor of their shop.

The rain was decreasing in intensity as I approached the library, I decided to go to the library because I couldn't wait any longer to give my parents the good news... it was after all thanks to them, to their motivational speech, that pushed me to continue on my way and give me enough courage to face life.

Suddenly it stopped raining and the clouds began to disappear ... behind the dark sky you could finally glimpse the blue sky... _'Wonderful...'_ I thought as I headed towards the library.

I heard some boys screaming with joy and pointing at a specific point of the sky, caught by the curiosity I turned in their direction and saw the most beautiful thing I saw to date... the rainbow... it was not the typical rainbow where you could glimpse a few colors because it was all blurry... this was as if it were complete... you could perfectly distinguish every single color from each other... _'Was that a sign?'_ I thought as I finally could begin to glimpse the library.

Outside the library, I saw my father and mother... _'They had gone out to admire this temporary panorama too'_ I thought as I was approaching them.

"Even both of you were speechless in front of such a panorama?" I asked my two parents who were still looking up in the sky.

"Ah, you finally came back to Blu... I thought you had forgotten your umbrella" my mother said, turning and smiling at me.

"Well you see... I have to tell you some things..." I said while I was taking a deep sigh. After 10 minutes, I was able to tell in as much detail as possible what had happened to me today, trying to not leave out any details of what had happened to me.

"Great son, I knew you could do it!" My father said, patting my shoulders.

"I also knew that sooner or later you would be able to confess your feelings and anyway, your friends are right, don't worry and give her some time to reflect." My mother said as she was proud of me.

"In fact, finding out that one of your peers is actually your favorite writer and moreover that he loves you the same day is a big twist." My father said, looking at my mother.

"Seen from this point of view, yes, you're right, dad and mom." I said, smiling at them.

* * *

 **3rd Person POV**

Meanwhile a similar conversation was taking place in the other part of the city, Jewel after entering the restaurant, she immediately saw his father and mother busy serving some customers, she decided to confess everything once the place had been empty.

"What?... Jewel how did you get back already? You told me you had forgotten your umbrella..." Her mother said, looking at her daughter.

"I received help from Blu... he accompanied me to the restaurant." Jewel said while putting on her apron, ready to help her parents.

"And where is Blu? I really want to know him" Her father said while he was bringing some dishes to a table.

"He went home, I'll tell you both everything as soon as we finish serving all the tables," Jewel said, running towards a table, writing all the customers' orders on a small notebook. After an exhausting hour of service, there was no one left in the restaurant except for the Blue Macaw family.

"And that's what happened today... I bet he's angry with me because I ran away without even answering him" Jewel said, dropping few tears from her turquoise eyes.

"Wow who imagined that Blu hid such a secret... but I'll tell you something Jewel, if he has come so far to write for 3 years all those books dedicated to you... someone like him... you will not find someone like him anymore, don't miss this chance and at the first opportunity finish what you started." Her mother said, wrapping her daughter with her protective wings.

"Well admirable what this guy did for my daughter, I cannot wait to get to know him better." Her father said, daydreaming about the boy his daughter talks about.

"Do you seriously think that he wants to see me again?" Their daughter said, looking up to look at her two parents face.

"He managed to keep all these things inside himself for 5 years, do you really think after the hug that you gave him and after so much trouble and difficulty he went through, he doesn't want to see you again?" Her mother said, chuckling at the naivety of her daughter.

"Your mother is right, when she talks about love, no one knows more than she does." Her father said, laughing with his wife.

"Spokes to the one who followed me to my house to be able to confess his feelings because he was too ashamed to do so in front of an audience" Sarah said as she stares at her husband.

"Honey, please... not in front of our daughter... but in the end everything went well, right?" Her husband said nervously.

"Of course, if I had the opportunity to rewrite the past ... I would leave it exactly as it is, how can I refuse such a tearful confession?" His wife said as she was hugging him.

"OK ok, honey, let's not go into the details, please..." Her husband said with an embarrassed face.

"Alright, I'll do it just for you," Sarah said, exchanging a kiss with her husband.

"OK... I think I understand, at my first chance I'll try to make up for the damage I've done." Said their daughter looking out the window of the restaurant admiring the rainbow in the sky.

* * *

 **Jewel POV**

 _'Nobody had managed to make my heart beat so much... if this isn't love... then I don't know what to think anymore... it must be him... will he be the boy that will make me truly happy?'_ Jewel thought while looking at the rainbow.

I always thought I was already happy in my life, that I didn't need anything else... but... finally I realized that happiness need to be shared... it need to be shared with someone you truly love... just like my father and my mother... I have always envied their relationship and I always dreamed of having someone one day to smile with, someone to suffer with, someone to laugh with, someone to live with, someone to love...

Tomorrow I'll go to meet him... I've never been surer than now, he's special and I've known it since the first day I saw him... but now that I finally knew his secret... this makes him even more...

* * *

 **Here we are again at the end of the chapter, I hope you all enjoyed the romantic moment between Blu and Jewel, it's my first attempt to write a romantic scene and I must say that I'm not entirely satisfied.**

 **Originally, this chapter wasn't so dramatic, especially elements such as the slap of Rebecca etc... weren't present, I decided to put more of suspense, but the problem with chapters of +9k of words, there is very little of suspense...**

 **After the 14th I will finally have a free week, I hope to be able to take me as far as possible with the chapters of this story to not leave you without any update for 2 months.**

 **As said at the beginning, leave a review, I will never be tired of repeating it... it doesn't matter if it is trivial or not, if it is critical or flame, you have no idea how satisfied I am every time I get a notification on my phone of a new comment from you... unfortunately I am aware that I am in the worst moment of this archive, many writer have already left and there are few people who still spend their time writing stories about RIO... review if you liked the story or the chapter, nobody likes to lose 1 week of hard work to get no feedback...**

 **Without anything to say, see you all hopefully next week with a new chapter. :)**

 **~Fenix139**


	4. Will To Change

**AUTHOR NOTE: Hello again to everyone, welcome to my fourth chapter, you have no idea how many times I had to cut parts of the story because I was reaching even the 17k of words for this chapter. At the end, it turned out to be a chapter of 11549 of word... the longest I ever wrote... (Fun Fact: since chapter 1, the chapter have become longer and longer...) I would like to thank all my readers because we have reached 5 favorites, 5 follows and finally the 300 views to the story, of course I am aware that many views come from the same people, but I'm happy anyway, I never expected to achieve these goals with my first story.**

 **I have decided to personally thank all the people who have reviewed most of my chapters, I don't like not being able to reply to each one of you, so I decided that I will do it in this author's note, I want to let you know that I always read your reviews and that I always enjoy seeing you reviews on my new chapter.**

 **RIO2lover100** **: Thank you very much, you were the first person to review my story and the first to put fav / follow, moreover you're one of the few who always comment, I always saw your reviews on this archive, you're literally everywhere xD, thank you very much the work you do, despite your reviews aren't very long, but they are always review, you're doing the dirty work that others don't do, if there are people who still writes for this archive, I think it's also thanks to you, thank you very much and I hope to keep you entertained for a long time.**

 **ReaderC137** **: Although you have only reviewed once my story, I really appreciated your review, you were one of the main reasons why I immediately resumed translating the second chapter, I'm looking forward for your next review :), thanks for the fav / follow and for adding me among your favorite authors... thank you very much.**

 **Mucnicky** **: Thank you very much, you did the work that readerC137 had left, receiving such compliments from you're review... wow... let's say you were able to flatter me and make me embarrassed with your review and that's not an easy task! I hope one day to see you with an account, so you can follow my stories and receive an email every time I publish a new chapter, thank you very much for taking your time to give me a review, I appreciate it a lot.**

 **Palander** **: You were the surprise of my Sunday, I had resigned to my usual 4 people who review my story, you don't know how much I enjoyed reading your review for my story... just like Mucnicky, you really managed to make me happy with your praises and even more you added me among the favorite authors... thank you so much and I hope to keep the high expectations and to not disappoint you.**

 **Dovahkiin1412** **: Well what to say about you... I consider you as a mentor, I took the inspiration for my story mainly from you, with your story 'Chapter Of Life', you literally managed to chain me in your story, you have no idea how much I suffered every time you had test at schools and I had to wait 2 weeks before I could know what was going on in your story. You were one of the first people who I left a review, the day after I wrote my first chapter, I literally almost had a heart attack xD I wasn't expecting your review and even more you have also added me among your favorite authors... I thank you very much, I hope to not disappoint you with my story.**

 **AgentAcee198** **: Don't think that I forgot about you, although you have never reviewed my story, you have added my story to your favorites, I thank you very much and I hope that my 2 comments that i had made to your story have in some kind of way motivated you, if you still have any problem don't hesitate to write me in pm, this applies to everyone, if you have doubts or want someone to talk to, don't hesitate to write me :).**

 **PS: You will not believe it... but now I'm obsessed with Avicii's song (RIP) Waiting For Love, I wrote at least half a chapter just listening to that song... So, I'll recommend you to listen this song while reading this chapter.**

 **PPS: I know that my English sucks... I hope that you still managed to understand everything that I wrote down.**

 **I am well aware that this AUTHOR NOTE is lasting as a whole chapter, but don't worry because it is approaching the part that I liked the most when I was writing this story, everyone on the hype train! And now enough talk, I leave you to your fourth chapter of A Reason To Live.**

* * *

 **-Chapter 4 Will To Change**

 **Jewel POV**

Yesterday I really struggled to sleep, I kept reliving that memory... the memory in which Blu confessed his love for me... he was special and I knew it, I had to apologize as soon as possible... In these 2 days I was really worried... I couldn't find the courage to get close to him... what was happening to me? I never had any problem talking to other birds... Roberto and my friends had helped reassure me and stay calm... but that was useless... I couldn't take his face off my head... during my dreams I dreamed of him... his voice gave me a feeling of happiness... _'Why? Why I can't confess my love to him?'_ I thought to myself as I stared out the window of my room.

Today was a very windy day... I saw the trees outside my window moving without rest... it was as if they had come to life I thought while staring at them, I decided to open the window to understand how strong the wind was... that was a very stupid idea... for those few seconds that I opened the window, a strong gust of wind had literally blasted my room, I saw sheets flying everywhere, the pencil holder falling from my desk, books flying down from my bookshelf... everything was going terribly wrong... I lost no more time and immediately closed the window to avoid causing further damage.

* * *

 **Flashback 1 Day ago...**

 _'What I am doing... why I haven't gone to him to apologize?'_ I was thinking while I was following Professor Edwards's lesson... I wasn't myself anymore... I am increasingly absent as if my body were physically present but my head was somewhere else. While I was immersed in my thoughts, I didn't realize that Professor Edwards was making all my classmate read in turns.

"Jewel? Can you read the next page?" Professor Edwards asked as he turned to me.

At that moment I panicked... it wasn't from me to be in the clouds during a lesson... especially if it was a lesson from Professor Edwards... I remained silent not knowing what excuse to use or how to justify myself for my distraction.

"Jewel, you weren't paying attention to the lesson?" The professor asked as he was approaching me.

"Excuse me so much professor... it won't happen again..." I said, lowering my head.

"During the break come to the professor's room, because we need to have a talk." The professor said as he turned around to resume his lesson.

 _'What he was going to tell me? Was he offended by my behavior?'_ These were the thoughts I had at that moment inside my head... the lesson went on without any problems, except of course when I was distracted, when I finished the lesson I saw the professor put his teaching material and tools in his bag while he was heading for the professor's room. I took a long sigh and began to follow him, as I walked the corridors of the school, I heard someone call me, I turned my head and saw Roberto with Mary and Sofia.

"Jewel? Where are you going?" Roberto asked me as he was approaching to me.

"Jewel, why you didn't wait for us in your classroom?" Mary asked me.

"Guys... I have to go to the professor's room to talk to Professor Edwards..." I replied as I kept walking.

"Why do you have to go and talk to the professor? What have you done, Jewel?" Sofia asked me as she tried to stop me.

"Not now please... let me go to the professor's room and then after school we can talk about it..." I said while looking at my three friends in the face.

"All right, we'll wait you outside school then!" Roberto said as he turned to go to the schoolyard.

I heard Mary and Sofia saying goodbye to me and then waving their wing, I didn't lose too much time, I knew very well that the professor preferred punctuality, I tried to hurry up and once reached the professor's room, I knocked on the door waiting for an answer. After a few seconds I saw the professor come out of the door.

"Ah, you've finally come Jewel, please come in" Professor Edwards said while opening the door and showing me where I should sit down.

"You're wondering why I called you here, right?" The professor asked me as he was tidying up his desk.

"Yes Professor ... I know that I should be more careful during the lesson and I will never be distracted ever again..." I replied as I looked around the professor's room.

"I didn't call you here to talk about that, I called you for your behavior in the last two days, are you still traumatized by the Military Macaw episode?" The professor asked me as he pulled a notebook out of his bag with a pen attached to its side.

"Um... no professor, it's not for that reason..." I answered as I thought between myself whether to tell the truth or to lie to him.

"Well, I'm glad that the episode didn't leave any trauma, if you don't mind, could you tell me what's upsetting you in these last few days? I don't want you to lose yourself right now in your last school's year, you're a very bright student, to be honest the brightest girl in school, it would be a real shame if we lose you in this last year. " The professor said, opening his notebook and looking at me.

"Thank you very much Professor for his compliments... I am well aware that this is my last year and every wrong step can only damage my hard work that I managed to build in these four years... but..." I said while I tried to finish my sentence while looking at the professor.

"But? If you don't want to talk about it with me, that's fine, I'm just offering you a hand (wing), you're free to accept my help or not, Jewel" The professor said as he was writing something in his notebook that I couldn't read.

"Professor Edwards... in these last days I met a boy... and let's say I haven't been the same after meeting him... unfortunately I'm having a hard time staying attentive to his lesson..." I said, looking out the window.

"Let me guess... this boy's name is Blu? Right?" The professor said as he read some old notes in his notebook.

"WHAT? How do you know?" I asked, turning immediately to the professor with a truly amazed face.

"Love... don't think that you're alone in the clouds, I had just talked to Blu the day before, he also was distracted during my lessons, I only had to do 1+1" The professor said laughing.

"He is... distracted just like me?" I shyly asked the professor.

"Well yes, I caught him in the clouds just like you, so today, when I saw you in that state, I immediately realized that there was something between you two, it's incredible that two of my brightest students are in love with each other..." The professor answered looking at me straight in my eyes.

"But how do you know we're in love? Is it so obvious?" I said, amazed by the professor's response and intuition.

"Many times, you teenagers forget that we adults have passed through your same period of time, if I learned something from my various crush during my youth... it's definitely to never give up, especially if it's true love, I know it's extremely strange to receive such explanations from your professor and I realize it myself, but I want to remind you of my motivation, I don't want to risk losing my two best students at the beginning of the Christmas holidays." The professor said, smiling at me.

"I didn't know that you, professor had any crush... you always seemed like an independent and authoritarian bird..." I replied, surprised by the words of my professor.

"I know... my appearance tricks everyone, I don't know about you but I have two daughters, one who is already married and one who is a year older than you, what I am telling you is all from years of experience as a father, you're free to follow my advice or not, but I'll tell you one last thing, do what you think is right but then the important thing is to not regret your choices, think well Jewel and next time I want you without any worries because it will be a tough lesson, now you can go, thank you for listening to this now middle-aged Macaw" The professor said laughing and opening the door to me.

"Thank you so much professor... I will try to reflect well on what to choose..." I said as I left the room.

"The important thing is to not regret your choices or decisions, remember it!" The professor said as he closed the door.

 _'Who imagined that Professor Edwards had two daughters...'_ I thought to myself as I headed to class... _'The important thing is to not regret your choices...'_ These words ... better think about it later, now I have a lesson to follow, I thought as I hurried to join the class.

At the end of the lesson, after putting all my stuff back in my backpack, I got ready to leave the institute, once I arrived at the school gate, I was looking for my friends... when I saw him... Blu was about 20 meters away from me... between us there was a crowd of students who was coming out of school and so it was difficult to reach him...

At that moment I was reminded of the professor's words... _'If I don't confess my love for Blu... I would surely have regretted such a decision...'_ I thought, I took courage as I was walking towards him.

Once I almost reached him, I was stopped by someone, I turned and saw Roberto with Mary and Sofia, it was definitely not the best time to talk to me, I tried to give a very quick explanation to them so i can reach Blu.

"Guys, not now please, just leave me 5 minutes and I'll join you right away" I said with a determined face, my friends were stunned, they had never seen me more determined than that and decided to leave me alone for the moment.

I turned to see Blu and when I was about 10 meters from him, I heard someone call him, I turned my head and I saw Rebecca... she ran to him immediately hugging him and they started talking happily as they came out of the school gate... I didn't know what to say... again, this feeling... jealousy was having the better of me at that time... I just stood there like a fool watching them as they came out of the school gate laughing... although I knew very well that they were just friends... I just couldn't be jealous of their friendship...

"Jewel? Are you okay?" Roberto said as he approached me, and soon Mary and Sofia joined me.

"I think I understand what's going on," Sofia said, giggling as she looked at Blu and Rebecca.

"I see, I think I get it too Sofia, and I agree with you, I never thought that one day I would see you in this state, Jewel" Mary said, smiling at me.

"Girls but I didn't understand anything, one of you would explain to me what's going on?" Roberto asked ingenuously as he looked around searching for clues.

"It seems clear to me that Jewel is in love with that Blue Macaw we've just seen, I have to admit that he is very charming..." Mary said giggling.

"Hey! Don't you dare!" I said with an intimidating look, _'What was I doing? jealousy was driving me mad...'_ I thought to myself.

"Wow, you've already reached at this stage, I see that you really care about that Blue Macaw" Roberto said as he tried to calm me down.

"Jewel, would you tell us what happened today in the professor's room?" Sofia asked me, surprised by my sudden explosion of jealousy.

"Well... it's a long story... but now that you've witnessed this scene... I think it's the right time to confess what's going on inside my head, why we don't go to that bar so we're more comfortable?" I said as we headed to a bar near our school. Once I entered and once ordered something to eat, I started with my version of the story, of course I left out the part where Blu had confessed to me that he was T. Gunderson for obvious reasons.

After a half hour of conversation, I saw some very surprised expression in the face of my friends, _'Surely my story must have impress them'_ I thought as I continued to eat a cheesecake that I had ordered before.

"So this Blue Macaw called Blu, he has confessed his love to you and you share he's same feelings?" Roberto asked me as he finished drinking an orange juice.

"Exactly, I was going to go and confess my love to him, but by chance you came at the right time to interrupt me" I said annoyed.

"We didn't know Jewel... we didn't do it with the intention of hindering your love story with that Blue Macaw" Mary said while sharing some ice cream with Sofia.

"Yes I know it very well... but I still feel I've missed an opportunity..." I said as I lowered my head.

"Don't be sad Jewel, you'll see that everything will be fine, however I agree with Professor Edwards and I will give you another advice, follow what your heart tells you and make the right choice" Roberto said putting a wing on the my shoulder.

"Wow, I would never thought that Roberto could be so wise" said Sofia bursting out laughing with Mary, they were laughing so much that they had dropped their plate, fortunately Roberto had quick reflexes and took their plate before they hit the floor.

"Ok, after what I've just done, now you owe me a favor," Roberto said, smiling mischievously.

"NO! I prefer to pay for you than owe you a favor Roberto!" Mary and Sofia screamed together.

While the three of them were quarreling, in the meantime I was immersed in my thoughts ... _'Follow what your heart tells you, huh? What my heart tells me... I think the only way to put my heart in peace is to talk again with Blu... I'm sure'_ I thought as I saw flying objects thrown between my friends... _'they will never grow up...'_ I thought as I was watching them, making sure that none gets hurt.

 **Flashback end**

* * *

I heard someone knocking on the door, I hurried down the stairs, I opened the door and saw my aunt Mimi in front of me, it was so long since I saw her, as soon as our eyes crossed, I had received a truly lethal hug from her part... fortunately, my father and mother immediately reached me and helped me to free myself from that deadly grip.

"Here you are my big sister, what do you think until now about Moose Lake?" My father said, hugging my Aunt Mimi.

"Hello little brother! You haven't changed at all, how are you Sarah and you too Jewel?" Mimi said, looking at my mother and me.

"We're fine Mimi, I'm happy to see you again, are you excited for your new job who is waiting for you today?" My mother asked as she looked at my aunt.

"Wait a minute, I missed something? Why are you here Aunt Mimi?" I asked as I looked at my family with a puzzled look.

"Jewel, your Aunt Mimi just moved here to Moose Lake, and from today she'll give us a hand at our restaurant" my father said smiling at me.

"But it's fantastic, but I don't understand why you kept me in the dark about everything" I said as I closed the door of the house.

"We didn't tell you anything because we wanted to surprise you..." My father said smiling at me.

"Well, it was your father's idea, I told him it was a bad idea, but he, as a stubborn bird, didn't listen to me " My mother said, giggling.

"I thought i would surprise you Jewel and make you happy... after all, you haven't seen your aunt for a long time, next time I'll think better before you giving you a surprise" My father said while he was making some coffee for my aunt.

"No, no, you misunderstood me, I'm not angry because you have hidden my aunt's arrival, I'm happy to see my aunt more often than twice a year" I said, sitting next to my aunt.

"I am happy to see you too, 'My little wild flower', you have grown up so much... you are exactly identical to your mother!" My aunt said, squeezing my cheeks.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

Two days had passed since my confession to Jewel, today was Saturday, and this means, day in the library to help my parents, even though I had a book to complete as soon as possible, I like to stay in the library and look for new inspiration, in these last days I had a very hard time sleeping, I kept reliving my discussion with Jewel... after being awake almost all night, I finally managed to have at least 4-5 hours of sleep.

It wasn't much and I knew it too, but it was better than nothing, last night after dinner, it had started again to rain, I didn't mind at all, in fact if I could sleep, it was also thanks to the sound of the rain, under to my blankets I felt the drops of water tolling out of my window giving me a sense of security because I was inside my room protected from what surrounding me... that's exactly what I needed at that time...

Strangely I had a very weird dream, in my dream I was tormented by something that now I couldn't remember, it was certainly something very important but unfortunately nothing came to my mind at the time, _'Strange'_ I thought to myself... I decided that by now I was already awake and so it was useless to try to go back to sleep.

As every day I got up from my bed stretching my wings, once I got out of my bed, but this time I touched something wet with my talon, once I rubbed my eyes, I looked out to see what I had trampled... in front of my eyes, almost all of my room's floor was wet... that's what I had forgotten... I had left the window open and since it was raining... now I find myself with the floor of my room all wet... _'If my mother knew this... after all the warning she gave me the night before... I'm dead...'_ I thought as I hurried to find a solution.

* * *

 **Flashback Night before...**

Once I had finished dinner, I got up from the table and headed to the living room, I was immediately joined by my father while my mother hurried to clear the dinner table and wash all the dishes, I turned on the TV to spend some time, since tomorrow was Saturday I could sleep a little later, and maybe, while I was watching some TV, I could find some inspiration for my book.

"Blu, I know what you're thinking right now... you did something that I never expected from you and I'll be honest with you, I'm glad you managed to disprove me and show that when you want, you're able to get what you want, but now you must show me that you're also patient. " My father said while with his wing he changed the TV channel.

"Well, what to say... I'm happy to have impressed you, not even I thought I was able to say such words... but in the end I'm happy that everything went well or almost... anyway... I just have to be patient "I said as I looked out the window.

"Don't worry son, it's useless for you to get upset, the only rational choice you have now is to wait for her, you've already done your job." My father said putting his wing on my shoulder.

"Thanks for your support dad, you're right, now I just have to wait..." I said watching the news on TV. After a while, the usual weather forecast has started at the end of the news transmission.

"Wow, it will rain for a long time..." My father said as he watched the weather forecast on the TV.

"Well I don't mind but I have to admit that there will certainly be fewer people in our library if it rained every day as it did the day before." I said as I stretched my legs.

At that moment I heard a rumble of thunder not far from our house, immediately after a flash that for a few seconds had managed to illuminate the entire neighborhood, _'Incredible'_ I thought as I looked out of the living room window.

"Mmh... I don't like that thunder, I think that is going to rain even this evening" My father said approaching the same window where I was facing.

"Oh yes... but the rain is important, if it stops raining, then that would be a big problem." I said looking at my father.

At that precise moment it began to rain again, the sound of the rain echoed the entire neighborhood, I heard a couple of birds running desperately in the middle of the road looking for a shelter, _'A storm'_ I thought while staring at the drops of water covering very quickly the window of the living room, now we are in November and very soon the snow will return... _'I can't wait'_ I thought as I admired the view outside the window.

"Your right son, if it stopped raining, there won't be enough water for fields and to drink, in fact I never said that I don't like rain, the only thing that bothers me is the strong wind, especially when it damages something of my property, like our mailbox... last time the wind was almost able to take it away..." My father said, thinking back about what had happened a month ago.

"Ah yes, I still remember it, I remember you threw the newspaper off your wings and you slung out of the house in a desperate attempt to recover our mailbox." I said giggling, thinking back to the misfortune that had happened to my father.

"Keep laughing, when you'll have a family of your own, you will understand that you will have new responsibilities, such as having to take care of your wife, having to repair the fence, having to bear the complaints of your wife..." My father said, unable to finish his list.

"What are you saying honey?" A voice said behind him.

At that moment, my father and I turned our head and before our eyes there was my mother, she didn't have a happy face at that moment, although my father had a very impressive and strong body, he wasn't the boss of our house, my father he might look like a serious person but he has a heart of gold, he would never be able to hurt anyone.

"Um... Honey, I was just joking with our son... you don't need to take it so personally." My father said, nervously rubbing the feathers of his neck.

"Instead of wasting your time in front of the TV, why don't you hurry up and pick up your laundry that's still out in our backyard? You know very well that another storm has arrived and if you don't hurry up tomorrow you'll have nothing left to wear." My mother said, looking at my father straight in his eye.

"WHAT?! My clothes are still outside? Why Camilla... why you didn't tell me right away!" My father said, leaping from the back door as he ran under the storm. I could see him from the backdoor window while he was jumping around and picking up everything that was still hanging, once he had come back inside, he had all his clothes in his wings, they were unfortunately all wet, _'But he could leave them on the radiator to dry them'_ I thought to myself as I saw my father trying to dry himself with a towel.

"Dad, you can leave your clothes on the radiator to dry them by tomorrow morning." I said, pointing to the living room radiator with a wing.

"Great idea son" My father said going to the radiator.

"Blu, remember to close the windows when you go to sleep, I don't want to scold you like the last time, have we understood each other?" My mother said with an intimidating look.

"Yes mom ..." I said, nodding, not wanting to make her angry.

 **Flashback end**

* * *

I hurried to close the window but now the damage was done... the floor near the window was all wet including some school books, _'Fortunately they were books from last school's year...'_ I thought while trying to save what I could save.

 _'My mother will certainly get angry as soon as she sees all this mess in my room'_ I thought while trying to find a solution to my problem, I decided to go to the bathroom to get a rag to clean the floor, once I left my room making as little noise as possible and crossed the long corridor to reach the bathroom, but as soon as I arrived in front of the bathroom I found it locked. _'Strange'_ I thought while I wondered who could be inside, it was early enough and I should be the only one awake at this time... so I decided to find out who was inside the bathroom.

"Who's in the bathroom?" I asked outside the bathroom door.

"Me" Said a male voice in the bathroom... it was my father... _'But what the hell of answers is me? I don't understand it... even at the intercom, when birds answer 'Me' it makes me mad, it's too much to add their name to their answer?'_ I thought outside the bathroom door.

"Dad, for how long does you intend to stay in the bathroom?" I asked impatiently.

"Just a little bit, why did you wake up so early?" My father asked from inside the bathroom, he was surprised to hear that I was already awake at this hour of the morning. I had to find an excuse immediately as not to create any suspicions, I thought, I had only to find an excuse and say it convincingly, _'He couldn't see through the bathroom door, so I don't need to try hard to make a convincing face'_ I thought to myself.

"There's been a very noisy motorbike outside of my window and that woke me up." I said my first excuse that had gone through my mind, _'Not bad'_ I thought to myself as I said, _'Simple but effective excuse'._

"Ah, I'm sorry that this happened to you, can you go and see if your mother has already woken up or not?" My father asked.

"All right, dad, I'm going to check." I said, turning my body 180 degrees toward my parents' room. Once I reached my parents' room, I opened the door, once I entered, I saw my mother still on the bed... I approached to wake her up but what my eyes saw made me stay where I was... my mother was in the bed with her beak open and some saliva coming out of it...

I had always thought that my mother was a lady, that she didn't have any faults, etc ... it was the first time I was in front of a scene like that... usually it was always my father and I who were the rude of the house but she... this scene beats them all. It was stronger than me, I pulled my smartphone out of my pajama pocket to take a picture, once I took the picture, I immediately got an idea, I could share the photo with my father just to laugh and keep the photo for a possible revenge against my mother, I immediately sent the photo to my father and put the phone back in my pocket. Once I had sent the photo, I tried to wake up my mother.

"Mom, wake up, it's already morning." I said as I shook her lightly from the bed, I knew very well that I shouldn't exaggerate with my shook because my mother could be very touchy in the morning.

"Mmh w-why are you already awake Blu?" My mother said, still half asleep, trying to open her eyes and getting out of bed. Now I understand why other bird say that I took my mother's eyes, her eyes were lighter than mine but apart from the tonality, they were identical.

"There was a very noisy motorbike that woke me up mom." I said using the same excuse I had used with my father.

"OK, I understand." My mother said, getting out of bed and immediately turning around to look for my father.

"Where is your father?" My mother asked, confused because she couldn't find my father.

"He's in the bathroom and I'm waiting to use it too." I said irritably because my father hadn't left the bathroom yet. Suddenly there was some laughter coming from the corridor, my mother and I were very confused, once we had left the room to understand what was happening and when we reached the source of laughter we both understood that they came from the bathroom.

"Honey are you all right? Do you need anything? "My mother said a little worried as she knocked on the bathroom door to find out if my father was doing well.

"Camilla, I found a new wallpaper for my smartphone!" My father said, laughing even louder... I would even be willing to pay to see his expression and his _'This famous new cellphone background'_ I thought while I was next to my mother outside the bathroom door.

"And you need to make all this noise? If you keep laughing, you'll wake up the whole neighborhood." My mother said, irritated by my father's childish behavior.

"You don't understand... wait for me and I'll show you." My father said pulling the toilet flush.

In those few seconds, I finally understood what my father was talking about ... Once I realized I could get into big trouble, I slowly started to run away to my room while my mother wasn't looking at me, she was too curious to know what wallpaper my father was talking about. Once in was my room, I had seen that the puddle of water was still here and that my room was the worst place to hide in that moment...

"BLUUUU!" My mother said screaming full of anger from the corridor outside my room.

 _'Well... checkmate... I'm dead'_ I thought at that moment, I heard footsteps closer and closer to my door, it was undoubtedly my mother who surely was now in a bad mood because of the picture I had taken... _'How could one resist such temptation?'_ I thought trying to justify my action.

At that precise moment, the door was opened with unprecedented strength and the architect of this was none other than my mother... my mother was typically a sunny bird, kind and caring but when she got angry she seemed a completely different bird... even my own father didn't dare to challenge her when she was in this state...

"Blu! how you dare to take a such picture of your mother!" My mother screamed as she stared at me with a very intimidating look... her hazelnut eyes were literally on fire...

That day I learned a new lesson, never trust dad... especially in the early morning... one of his main flaws was that sometimes he was also too _'Lively...'_ definitely a very unpredictable bird...

"Delete immediately that picture, you understand? If I find out that you've sent it to other bird, I'll teach you a lesson that you'll never forget!" My mother said, looking me straight in my eyes, I felt the sweat coming down from my forehead and falling on the wet floor of my room.

"Excuse me mom it won't happen ever again..." I said as I lowered my head so as not to have to look at my mother's face.

"Wait a minute, why your room's floor is wet? Don't tell me that you left the window open during the night!" My mother said, looking around my room.

Needless to say, that morning I received a punishment from my mother... let's say that I deserved it in a kind of way... I forgot to close my window and I trusted to leave a picture like that to my father... Once I got off for breakfast, my mother was still angry, how can I blame her and my father, to my surprise, he has small bruises scattered around his body, I didn't think about him receiving a punishment from my mother but it was because of him and he's childish act in front of that picture that caused all this mess...

* * *

 **Jewel POV**

After explaining in detail the role of my aunt Mimi in our restaurant, since the restaurant was closed in the morning and was only open for lunch and dinner, I decided that it was the right moment... because my mother knew where was the library run by the family of Blu... I had to ask her a favor.

"Mom... can I ask you a favor?" I asked while I was arranging some restaurant's chairs.

"Sure Jewel, what kind of favor do you need?" My mother answered as she turned on the restaurant lights.

"Mom... can you tell me where the library was where you met Blu?" I shyly asked, unable to look into her eyes.

"Are you going to apologize to him?" My mother said, smiling at me.

"Yes... it's like when he confessed his feelings to me, he took something away from me... and without that thing I cannot be myself anymore." I said with a thoughtful face.

"I understand, I'll take you to him, about the thing you feel you've lost or miss... you'll soon find out what it is as soon as you talk to him." My mother said, putting a wing over my shoulder.

"Thanks mom... I really hope to be able to solve the situation between me and Blu..." I said while I began to set tables.

"Everything will be fine, don't think about it too much" My mother said.

"What are you two talking about?" My father said as he left the kitchen with my aunt Mimi.

"I'm going to accompany our daughter from that boy who works in the library." My mother said as she put on a heavy jacket, ready to take me to Blu. My father, after hearing this, turned in my direction.

"Are you really in love with that boy?" My father asked me with a thoughtful face.

"Yes dad... it's as if from that day on, there was something... something that chained us... I can't help but think about of him..." I said while looking at my father in the face.

"What do you feel when you're near him or when you see him on the street or at school?" My father immediately asked to test me.

"When I'm close to him?... when I'm near him I feel safe... whenever I'm close to him my heart beats very fast and I can't be myself anymore... and the last time I seen him together with a friend of her, I felt jealousy... these days I do nothing but think about him... in short, if this isn't love... then I don't know what love really is..." I said looking at my family.

"Well, I expected less details but that's okay, do what you think is right but remember, this guy must have my approval before he can get together with you, understand?" My father said firmly.

"Honey... I see that you'll never change... just try to not be too strict with our daughter's boyfriend" My mother said, patting my father's shoulder.

"But mom... we're not in a relationship yet..." I said shyly, feeling my cheeks grow redder.

"Fine Jewel, think of it as you wish, but hurry up because if you don't, we'll be late in going back to the restaurant." My mother said opening the door to the restaurant.

"Since you're already there, can you ask him to come and see us here at the restaurant? I'm curious to know this guy who was able to steal my daughter's heart." My father said sarcastically.

 _'This guy who was able to steal my daughter's heart...'_ That's it... that's why I felt I had lost something… I thought as I listened to my father speech.

"Eduardo, I'll tell you one more time, try to be nice to him, remember what I told you about him, he's a pretty shy boy, promise me that you'll treat him well!" My mother said in an exasperated tone.

"All right, I'll try to treat him as if he were my dear customer." My father said defeatedly. Having said that my mother and I left our restaurant, heading to the library managed by the family of Blu.

* * *

 **Eduardo POV**

After seeing my daughter and wife leave the restaurant, I couldn't stop thinking about how many things were going to change in our lives... my daughter really grew up... I will miss her... especially when she is ready to leave our home and start a new family all of her own...

"My little brother, did I hear that right? did Jewel really found a boyfriend?" Mimi asked me, looking at me with a excited face.

"Exactly, my daughter is in love with a young Blue Macaw who attends her own school." I said as I resumed my reconnaissance tour in the kitchen.

"Wow, my little wild flower has a boyfriend... I still remember her first crush..." Mimi said chuckling

"Don't remind me of that memory... she was just a child... she didn't know what she was doing..." I said with a tone of annoyance.

"It was so funny when she wanted to be the girlfriend at all costs with a famous bird on TV, I still remember how many speeches and sleepless nights to explain that they had 20 years of difference, that they lived on two different continents and so on... you are really changed my little brother" My sister said smiling at me.

"What do you mean? I've always been like that!" I said, turning to my sister with a confused face.

"You weren't at all like that, you were a stubborn boy... who didn't give a damn about anyone, you spent your days running away from school and so on... in short, a rebel boy... look at you now... a responsible father and a model for your daughter" My sister said hugging me.

"I made mistakes when I was young... but the important thing is to understand what you are doing wrong and correct yourself accordingly." I said, returning the hug.

"You've changed for the better since you met Sarah, it's amazing how much a single person can completely change you ..." Mimi said as she left the kitchen.

"You're right... many times one forgets how much effort and sacrifice have made the birds around you... Sarah hated me initially... just because she thought I was a good for nothing... but for her I sacrificed everything and I was willing to change... just for her... I never imagined 20 years ago to find me here now... with a wonderful family..." I said letting tears fall from my eyes.

"Come on, don't break down, I didn't think to see you crying again... you've always claimed to be a strong boy and that crying was for little girls" My sister said as she handed me a packet of tissues.

"Yes... I remember saying that sentence... but sometimes it's useless... you have to accept that crying is a natural thing, it shows that we males have feelings too... unfortunately the society has accustomed us since we are kids to be strong... sometimes I envy you girls... for you it is so easy to express your feelings, we males many times we are forced to repress our feelings and look strong even when we really aren't... but I am still firmly convinced to never cry in front of my family... i must stay strong for them" I said while I dried my tears.

"Wow, my little brother... you really changed, I'm glad you finally managed to open your eyes..." My sister said with a surprised face.

"I cannot wait to meet this boy that Jewel talks about... he looks like a really special bird from her description..." My sister said looking out the window of the restaurant...

"I can't wait too, I sincerely hope that he is a good boy and that he can make my daughter happy, otherwise he will have deal with me" I said, sure of my words.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

Once I got to the library, my mother took the car to visit some friends of her, so it was only me and my father who ran the entire library. Since it was still morning, there were only few customers and so I decided to go on writing for my new book, I was at that moment on the second floor of the library, in the relax area, I was sitting at a table where I had my laptop, a glass of orange soda, some sheets and a pen. At the time I was alone upstairs and this did nothing but please me.

By now the test were approaching for the end of the first part of the year, while I had modestly very high grades so I don't have to worry, my friends weren't doing so well, yesterday I went to Rebecca's house to do some math repetitions, today just to change, I offered to do the repetitions via Skype.

"Blu what result do you get for exercise 4?" Rebecca asked through the computer.

"Exercise 4? Wait a minute I take out my math notebook ..." I said while I rummaged in my backpack looking for the notebook, once I found it, I flipped through the pages very quickly.

"I got 14 as the result of exercise 4" I said looking in the webcam of my computer.

"WHAT? But how did you get 14 as result of that exercise..." Rebecca said, while violently waving her notebook in front of the webcam.

"What result did you get then?" I asked as I continued to write a new chapter of my book, since I was getting thirsty, so I grabbed my glass of orange soda that I had next to me to quench my thirst.

"I got 4312..." Rebecca said showing me her notebook, needless to say that once I heard the result, I spit out what I was drinking and started laughing like crazy.

"But how did you get a 4-digit number ?!" I answered as I hurried to clean up what I had unintentionally soiled with my drink.

"Blu, is everything all right up there? Do you need help or what?" My father asked from the lower floor.

"Don't worry dad, everything is under control" I said, looking out of the balcony on the second floor.

"I don't really understand math... sometimes I really envy your intelligence, Blu..." Rebecca said with a visibly sad face.

"Rebecca, everyone is smart in his own way, if one is good at school that doesn't mean that he is better than one that isn't, the world is beautiful because it is varied, each of us has fields where you do better and others where you do worse, with this, I want to tell you to don't be sad, come on, now I'll explain what you are doing wrong "I said while I returned to my laptop.

"I'm sorry Blu... I'm wasting you precious time for your book..." Rebecca said, lowering her head.

"Rebecca don't talk nonsense, you're much more important than my book, I can write a book whenever I want but finding a friend like you... it's much harder if not impossible" I said smiling at her via webcam.

"Blu... I hate you, why you always have to make me move..." Rebecca said wiping a tear.

"We are brother and sister have you already forgotten? And to think that you were the one who told me this... dry those tears so we can resume where we left off" I said opening the textbook ready to begin my explanation.

* * *

 **Jewel POV**

"Here we are Jewel, we have finally arrived." My mother said, pointing to the library.

 _'Wow'_ I thought, to be a historical library, it has a certain charm... and that name... _'The Blue Macaw Library'_ is very unique... _'you don't often see library with such names'_ I thought.

Once we passed through the door, we were immediately greeted by an adult Blue Macaw, _'This was definitely Blu's father_ ' I thought, he looked very similar to him, both of them had the characteristic of the feather ruffle on the back of their neck.

"Hello, how can I help you?" Said the adult Blue Macaw smiling at us.

"Hello, I suppose you are Blu's father, right?" My mother asked, exchanging a handshake (wing) with him.

"Yes, you can call me John, are you looking for my son?" Blu's father asked us.

"Well to be honest, it's my daughter who is looking for your son" My mother said pointing at me with her wing. After hearing that phrase, the father of Blu turned to me showing some bruises on his side, and he told me.

"I suppose you're Jewel, my son told me a lot about you." Blu's father said, smiling at me.

"Yes, I'm Jewel and I came to talk to your son... can I ask you sir why you had those bruises on your side? It doesn't seem to have happened because of an accident." I asked, intrigued by his strange bruises.

"Well... it's a long story, maybe my son will tell you about it, now he is on the second floor, in the relax area, he should be doing some repetitions to a friend via webcam." Blu's father said pointing to the stairs to reach the upper floor.

 _'What a fool I was ... yesterday he went away with her because he was helping her with some repetition... after all, Blu is very good at school and that's why she asked him for help...'_ I thought to myself ashamed as I climbed the stairs that would have brought me upstairs. As I headed for Blu, downstairs, my mother and Blu's father were alone and they had the opportunity to get to know each other better, just to pass the time.

"Where is your wife? I wanted to thank her for the help she gave me when I came to pick up the cooking book" My mother asked, looking around looking for Blu's mother.

"At the moment Camilla is out with some of her friends, I suppose she should be back in about ten minutes." Blu's father answered looking out the window to see if his wife had returned or not.

While the two parents kept talking to get to know each other better, I had finally arrived upstairs, I found myself faced with a dozen tables, armchairs and chairs. In the middle of all this, I saw him... Blu was in front of my eyes intent on showing his notebook to the webcam.

 _'Surely he's explaining to Rebecca how to do that math problem'_ I thought as I approached him.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

"Rebecca, by following this method you can get to the result, do you understand?" I said as I lowered the book to see her expression.

"So and so... now I will try to do it again and then I'll tell you how it goes." Rebecca said as she lowered her head and began to redo the exercise. Once I had finished explaining every single passage to Rebecca, I took my sheets and my pen between my wings, ready to continue writing my story, when suddenly...

"Blu? Can I talk to you for a moment or you are busy?" A familiar voice said from behind me. I turned my head immediately in the direction of the voice and saw her... Jewel was in front of my eyes... _'I wasn't dreaming...'_ I thought to myself rubbing my eyes.

"Jewel? What are you doing here? How did you know where I was working?" I asked as I got up from my chair and tried to recover from the shock.

"I asked my mother to come with me here because I have to tell you something..." She said timidly as she turned away from me. At that moment, I took a quick look downstairs, looking at her mother with my father while they were talking.

"I think I know why today you came here looking for me..." I said, smiling as sincerely as possible.

"First of all, I have to apologize to you for what I did the last time we met... and then..." Jewel said, however, she was unable to finish the sentence.

"You don't have to apologize, Jewel, the one who had to apologize is only me, I knew about your relationship with Roberto and yet..." I said without managing to finish my sentence.

"Blu, between me and Roberto there has never been anything, Roberto is only my best friend and I know him since we were little, he is more a big brother than a boyfriend to me..." She said timidly and blushing in her face.

"Really?! And I thought for two years that you two were together... "I said surprised to hear these words from her...

"That's why you stopped writing, right? Why didn't asked me if I was in a relationship with Roberto?" She said as she sat next to me.

"Yes... I was a fool, I should've ask directly to you before assuming everything..." I said, turning the other side ashamed of myself.

"As I imagined... Blu about that thing I wanted to tell you..." She said trying to look at me straight in my eye.

"Jewel, whatever is your answer, know that I will never regret what I told you that day, my feelings toward you will remain the same even if you don't love me..." I said trying to help her express herself in that difficult moment.

Jewel, once she heard those words, she remembered the conversation with Professor Edwards, _'The important thing is not to regret your choices or decisions... he doesn't regret his choice and I?'_ Jewel thought as she tried to formulate her next sentence.

"Blu... why do you love me? I don't understand... you did so much for me and I couldn't repay you in any way..." Jewel said in tears.

At the sight of Jewel in tears, I rushed to her side and stretched my wing to comfort her, she didn't waste any time and leaned her whole body on my shoulder, crying out loud... _'I couldn't endure seeing such a scene'_ I thought between of myself watching her crying on my shoulder.

"You can't ask a bird why he loves you, there isn't a real definition of why you love a bird... love is something that goes beyond words... don't think with your head, Jewel... follow what your hearth tells you, when I confessed my feelings to you, I just followed what my heart told me." I said as I tried to wipe away her tears.

* * *

 **Jewel POV**

Where did I hear these words? I knew the first part of his speech is from one of his books... the last part... I had heard it from Roberto... _'Follow what your heart tells you and make the right choice'_ I thought trying to stop crying... it was stronger than me... when I was close to him I could no longer be myself...

"Love is a combination of feelings and emotions that you feel when you are together with someone... this leads you to create a sense of affection and bond to that bird, I read this from your book Blu..." I said, trying to form a smile through the tears that are still flowing down from my cheeks.

"I'm glad that my book has taught you something Jewel" He said as he continued to hold me in his wings giving me a sense of security that I was missing at that time...

"Blu... I wanted to tell you that... I also feel the same feelings towards you... i love you Blu..." I finally said overtaking the block I had at that moment. I saw his eyes shine with an intensity that I didn't think was possible, some tears came down from his face but he immediately wiped them off, at that moment I was still between his wings... I didn't mind that feeling at all... he is so warm and I wasn't going to let him go... I could clearly feel his heart beat at my same pace...

Finally I managed to tell him, but I wouldn't have imagined that he would be able to show such confidence... maybe he is not as shy as he seems. While I was between his wings, I couldn't hold back... my beak was getting closer to his... I couldn't stop... I saw that he was getting closer and closer to me too... our beaks were about to touch when...

"Sorry if I interrupt both of you, but I and Jewel must go back to the restaurant, because it's almost lunchtime." My mother said as she was already upstairs smiling at us, along with my mother there was the father of Blu, he was smiling with a satisfied and proud expression of his son.

"Yes, mom, I'm coming..." I said as I walked away from Blu and headed towards my mother. While I was going to my mother side, I turned one last time towards Blu, whispering to him.

"See you at school Blu" I said giving him a kiss on his cheek.

I saw Blu's face, he was completely red all over his face and he couldn't pronounce a single word but he simply nodded, _'How cute he was when he behaved like that'_ I thought while I smiled mischievously and waved my wing.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

Once Jewel and her mother left we alone, my father and I were the only ones left inside the library.

"Nice job son, I heard your speech, you remember me and your mother when you were at your age." My father said patting me on the shoulder.

"Thank you, dad, I don't think I was so happy in all of my life, especially after her kiss on my cheek..." I said still very embarrassed about what had happened and the fact that my father witnessed the whole scene...

While I was talking to my father, we were both unaware that my mother Camilla had just returned from her chat with her friends, as soon as she entered the library, she hurriedly looked around looking for me and my father, she checked cash desk, she did a quick check between the book shelves but nothing even there... she gave a quick glance at the warehouse but still nothing... _'Where are those two hiding?'_ My mother thought while she was looking frantically throughout the library but in that precise moment, she had heard some voices coming from upstairs, _'There's no doubt, they're upstairs'_ she thought as she went upstairs.

"I must admit that she is a really beautiful girl, good job son, excellent choice." My father said, nudging me on the hips.

"Dad please, it's enough..." I said while I was suffering all these provocations from my father, _'He is in his childish mode'_ I thought to myself.

"Alright son, but don't tell your mother that because she's very jealous." My father said, giggling as he looked at me.

"John?!" A voice said from behind us. As soon as my father and I heard that voice, all his feathers rose up and he turned to the source of that voice.

"C-Camilla... how long have you been listening to us?" My father said, trembling, fearing the worst.

"I've been listening enough to hear you talk about a really beautiful girl dear." My mother said staring at my father.

"Um Camilla it's all a misunderstanding, our son can you explain everything, right?" My father said turning to me looking for help.

"Sorry dad, but I have to take revenge for what happened to me in the morning, have fun with mom because I'm going back to write my book." I said as I returned to the table where I had left my computer and papers.

"NO, please son come back! Tell your mother what happened!" My father cried in vain as he was dragged downstairs to the warehouse. While he screaming, he tried to escape from the secondary exit of the library but was immediately grabbed by a wing with a truly admirable power. My father saw my mother with an evil look... worse than this morning's, it never happened that she got so angry for two times in a row in the same day...

"Dear, we need to talk." My mother said as she approached my father and more and more, tightened her grip on my father's wing.

"Honey, it's all a misunderstanding! Really... listen to me please!" My father asked in vain.

In the meantime, I was upstairs, once I sat in my place I saw Rebecca's face all red, and it was then that I realized that she had heard everything... how could I forget something like that... _'At least now I don't have to waste my time to explain everything that happened to her'_ I thought to myself.

"Rebecca... did you hear everything, right?" I asked shyly while I stared at the webcam.

"Of course Blu, that confession was so moving... I didn't think you could be so romantic Blu" Rebecca said while she was wiping some fake tears.

"... Every time the same story... you'll never grow up... and to think that you read all my books... I wonder how much you understood about my books?" I said with annoyed tone.

"Hey, i can hear you! Anyway, I'm happy for you Blu, now I have to go, see you on Monday at school" Rebecca said while waving her wing and closing the call.

I took a long sigh, finally everything was resolved, _'I can finally put my heart in peace knowing that Jewel loves me...'_ I thought to myself as I grabbed my pen between my wings to continue my book. Everything was fine... until I heard a loud cry coming from the warehouse... _'It's my father'_ I thought as I heard that unmistakable voice... I felt extremely guilty for what I was doing... I decided to go and clarify everything, my father had sacrificed a lot for me, this was the least I could do for him, I thought as I ran to the warehouse.

Once I entered the warehouse, I was shocked... I saw my mother doing one of those moves that were only seen during wrestling, one of those moves that only served to make your opponent suffer when he was already on the ground... I immediately ran between my father and mother, separating them and explaining what really happened. Needless to say, that both my father and I, that night we had been fasting for lying to my mother, my father in addition to being fasting had a severe pain in his wing and shoulder but was immediately helped and treated by my mother, I, other than been punished with fasting... I must do housework for a week... which was literally my worst nightmare...

* * *

 **Here we are at the end of the chapter, as anticipated at the beginning, the part where I liked the most to write is approaching, it should be chapter 5 but most likely will be shifted to chapter 6 because I have a bad habit of starting to write and couldn't stop myself anymore...**

 **I must admit that I liked this romantic scene much more than that the one of the last chapter, finally I can be satisfied even if it was maybe too cliché? Regarding to the next chapter, the drama finally ended, or maybe not? (evil laugh), I don't know if I will be able to publish the following chapter in time, as I said in the previous chapter, I will very soon start to work, but you can always check the biography on my profile where I will update you with the progress of the next chapter.**

 **Many times, I regret having discovered this archive so late and the world of Fanfiction... but on the other side I'm happy to have discovered it now because now I have a good knowledge of English... who knows what horror would come out if the same me, 4 years younger than now, had written a story, at the thought I can only shudder... but I would really have enjoyed to know some of the veteran of this archive... I would have really enjoyed it...**

 **As always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope to receive other reviews from other people (Not that I dislike to receive it from the 5 people who already reviews my chapters every time), I decided to reviews the stories of those who reviews mine, that may seem strange and even stupid, but I want to return the favor, I will try to review your stories the best I can, maybe by giving you some tips? Even if I'm newbie too.**

 **Obviously, this doesn't mean that if you don't review me, I don't review you, I am no longer a child now (sadly lol), I will continue to review the stories that I like. Now enough talk and I hope to see you all at my next chapter of A Reason To Live.**

 **~Fenix139**


	5. Thrust

**AUTHOR NOTE:** **I decided to give everyone a surprise to thank you for all your support you gave me,** **welcome to this flash update of my fifth chapter of A Reason To Live, 14297 words... scary huh? Considering that a for a normal story, usually every chapter is just 3k of words long, it's like I wrote and published 4 chapter of 3500 of word each at the same time lol. With this, I want to say to take your time lol, this chapter should be enough for at least a week xD.**

 **This will be my last update before I start working full time, don't worry, this doesn't mean that I'm abandoning this story, it only means that you will have to wait longer before I update my story, most likely, I'm going to shorten the chapter to the 5k of words so I can reduce by half the time I spent before with 10k or more words per chapter.** **Just know that I will update this story less often than now, every update will be likely every week or two depending on my mood and free time.**

 **You literally amazed me... from 300 views of the last time, now we are already at 478, 6 favorites and 6 follows... I want to thank** **Original Name Goes Here** **for adding this story to your favorites and regarding to your review, I'm happy that you enjoyed so much my story that i becomes one of your reason to live xD, thanks to all of you... if I keep writing, it's all thanks to you.**

 **Let's move on to the most interesting things...** **Fanfiction guy** **... you really surprised me... you gave me some very good ideas for my story, since you have spent so much time to give me those ideas for my story, I will do it too. Let's start with your compliments... thank you very much, you are the second person who told me that** _ **'your writing style is very high standard'**_ **, I have always been pretty bad when it comes to write a stories, I never got very high marks at school, but all this changed in the third year of High School, when my new professor told me that I had a particular way of writing, she also told me that the shy people are usually the ones that really managed to amaze her, according to her the shy people could truly express themselves through their stories... and I agree with her.**

 **As for the grammatical errors, I'm not surprised that my story is full of them, the thing that amazes me the most is that nobody told me where and how I did wrong... my main goal is to focus on making the reader understand what I mean, that's the most important thing in my opinion, if I manage to form sentences syntactically and grammatically correct, then it is better.**

 _ **SPOILER ALERT read it only if you are interested in my answer to Fanfiction guy's review.**_

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 _ **'I would recommend adding Nico, Pedro and (if possible Luiz, Eva or Felipe) it would add a great dynamic for this story and be fantastic for character development**_ **': I've been thinking about it for a long time, my biggest fear is to add too many characters at once, it's very difficult to manage 4 characters in a discussion trying to give everyone their own space, but I'll tell you something in the chapter 2 I mentioned that Eva is in Brazil, Rio De Janeiro, I was going to let Blu and Jewel go for a holiday in Rio for the carnival, unfortunately, checking the calendar date, I noticed that it wasn't possible... carnival is from March 2 to 9... right in the middle of the school period, and this is their last school years too, so i couldn't find any valid excuses for them to go on vacation during that date... but I'm thinking to maybe let it shift in the summer, as for Pedro and Nico, they love samba... surely, they would be out of place in Moose Lake lol, if the idea of Blu and Jewel going to spend their holidays in Rio becomes a reality, then I already have an idea on how to make them known each other. Regarding Luiz… he's a bulldog… since in this world I only mention birds... I don't really think about adding him in my story, unless I turn him into a bird lol, that would definitely feel so wrong. Talking about Felipe... I personally didn't like his character so much, maybe I can make him become boyfriend with either Sofia or Mary? I think this is the only way I could add him in this story.**

 _ **'I would add a scene where Blu and Jewel go out on a date to either Jewel's families restaurant or another fine dining restraint of some sort. If you choose the first option, this would be a great opportunity for Blu to meet Eduardo and Aunt Mimi. You mentioned earlier in the third and fourth chapters that Eduardo wanted to meet Blu and get to know him more before he would be allowed to date Jewel. Thus, this would be a good idea to include.'**_ **: Already done lol, I had planned everything, and you'll read it in this chapter :)**

 _ **'Thirdly, you should add a scene where Blu shows Jewel the books he never published officially and comment on how the female characters in all of his books were nothing compared to her beauty (Jewel would be touched by this). Also include Blu and Jewel asking their family members advice on how to act on their first date, the answer they give is to just be themselves as they realize that the two Macaw's have feelings for each other.'**_ **: Mmh, not bad, I had completely forgotten about this detail lol, later in the story, I made some time skip, this will definitely be useful in the future, I want to remind you that in this chapter is currently late November and soon there will be Christmas and New Year, after these two festivities, there will be a surprise for all of you :)**

 _ **'Fourthly, it would be good if Blu and Jewel went for a walk together in the towns local park where Jewel asks Blu about what his new book is about (the one he's writing for the Minnesota book fair), but Blu teases her by saying that it's a surprise etc. You could also include a scene where Blu plays the guitar for Jewel when he invites her to his house and shows her his other articles and stories etc. Also add a scene where Jewel, who has been told by her father, invites Blu to her house for dinner and have Eduardo grant permission to date Jewel (Jewel is ecstatic about this and hugs her father)'**_ **:** **I really like the idea of the park! But I'm tempted to wait until spring but maybe you don't need to see that so late... as far as the guitar, you'll see it yourself in about 2 or 3 chapters, speaking of the date between Blu and Jewel, I want to remind you of Valentine's Day, I've already have something ready for that occasion.**

 _ **'Finally, I would add a romantic scene where Blu and Jewel share their first kiss under a beautiful full moon in the park.'**_ **:** **Are you a clairvoyant by chance? Because I already wrote a chapter like this... you'll see it soon... don't worry :)**

 _ **'Also I have another idea you might like, include Blu getting to know Roberto as a close friend. I think this will open up Blu's shyness and help him to broaden his horizons. Roberto could also serve as a mutual friend of sorts. Also it would be great if you could add a scene where Blu and Jewel each show more and more affection to each other (ie complimenting each other, holding wings, hugging etc).'**_ **:** **About Roberto, I have just used your idea :), you will read it in this chapter, regarding Blu and Jewel's relationship and their affection towards each other... I am a fairly cautious person, when it comes to going so intimate (cuddle, hugs, kiss etc...), I always go slowly, I don't like to make two people (Birds in this case) fall in love madly in a few days, but don't worry, I remind you that this story is Romance / Family, there will be a lot of** **romantic moments between Blu and Jewel** **! Blu will definitely become less shy, just give him some time to let him get used to all of this xD.**

 _ **'Another idea would be for Blu to invite Jewel and her family to his house where Blu's mother does most of the cooking with Blu helping her with preparing it' : **_**Mmh, great idea, maybe I'll add it in the next chapter!**

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 **Here we are at the end, Fanfiction guy, you really gave me many ideas and I'm very grateful to you, if you guys have any idea that you want to see in my story, I'm happy to read your suggestions, you can write me via pm or review as Fanfiction guy did.**

 **F** **un** **Fact: Sunday I spent at least 1 hour in front of the computer monitor not knowing how to start the chapter and what to write inside of it, once I received the review of Fanfiction guy, It literally helped me out of the block of the writer, if this is chapter has been released so early, it is thanks to him... I hope to receive other reviews like those of Fanfiction guy because they only help me to keep writing and give me new inspiration for this story.**

 **Wow, this author note is at least 1k of words long ... but don't worry because this story has another 13k of content just waiting to be read lol, enough talk and I'll leave you to my fifth chapter of A Reason To Live.**

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-Chapter 5 Thrust

 **Blu POV**

The fateful day had arrived, today, in addition to being able to see Jewel again, I had the final test of the first quarter of the years of math, yesterday I had spent the whole day with Rafael and Rebecca to prepare them for this day. Once I woke up and had breakfast, I left my house heading to the bus stop, while I was reaching the stop, I noticed among the many birds who were present, a dear friend of mine, Rafael.

"Rafael, are you all right?" I asked, smiling as I reached him.

"Oh Blu! I'm fine, thank you again for the help you gave me yesterday, without your help I wouldn't know what I would have done for today's test..." Rafael answered while greeting me by shaking my wing.

"You're welcome, remember, stay calm and don't rush, always read what you write, once you have finished the test, take at least 3 minutes of break to clear your mind, if you follow my advice, everything will be fine! Trust me." I said, patting him on the shoulder.

"Your just making it looks easy... but I will try to not forget what you've just told me" Rafael said smiling at me.

"It's a math test... it's just a matter of following the rules already fixed, once you have learned the steps to get to the result, it's a breeze" I said pulling out some of my notes to be able to do a review.

"That's the problem... I'm a pretty creative bird, I don't like having to follow a single and most of the time, only way to solve a problem... that's why math is not my strong point, it limits my creativity..." Rafael said while he was reading my notes.

"I understand you Rafael, but try to resist, once you leave the school you are free to choose the job that you like the most, unfortunately it is mandatory to have at least a basic knowledge of mathematics." I said reassuring him.

"You are really wise Blu, sometimes I seem to speak to the perfect copy of Professor Edwards" Rafael said laughing. Once we reached our class, I saw Rebecca at her desk while she was leafing through her math book very quickly, she was definitely anxious and I decided to reassure her as usual.

"Rebecca... try to stay calm... if you continue to leaf through the book like that... sooner or later you will rip some pages..." I said while I put a wing on her shoulder.

"Blu... I'm afraid of failing the test... my mother will surely be angry if she learns that I got a bad grade" Rebecca said looking at me with a saddened face.

"Then follow my advice and you'll see that everything will be all right, you and Rafael have taken big strides, you have improved a lot in these last days, have a little 'confidence in yourself!" I said sitting next to her.

At that moment the bell rang, all my classmates hastened to return to their place to prepare for the test that awaited us, the math professor entered the door, between his wings, he had a stack of papers. Those papers were undoubtedly the math tests, once the professor put all his material on his desk, he turned to the blackboard writing something on it.

 _'Start time 8:30 - end time 10:30, allowed use of calculator'_ I read it from my desk, _'If I'm allowed to use my calculator, then it will be a breeze'_ I thought between myself. At that moment I felt observed, I turned and saw some of my classmates staring at me with a look full of hope... _'Surely they wanted me to pass most if not all the answers...'_ I thought to myself as I tried not to look them straight in their eyes.

The professor wasted no time and began to move some of my _'Livelier'_ classmates to places near his desk, while I finished in the last row of the class... as usual I found myself at the ends of my class with the backs of my classmates before my eyes, _'The privileges to be the best in the class...'_ I thought to myself while watching some of them moving their desk forward... everyone trusted me... the professors treat me with particular attention... I didn't mind all of this... but I am well aware that this thing could definitely annoy some of my classmates...

Once the professor had handed out the test to the whole class, there was only silence, the only sound that you could heard is the pencils and pens scratching the surface of the test's sheets, in addition to all this, the clock of the class made a ticking noise that didn't do other than make everyone felt more anxious, I took a quick look at the test and a mischievous smile formed on my face.

It was exactly the same exercise that I had done yesterday with Rebecca and Rafael, I took a quick look in their direction to see how they were doing, Rebecca had a very determined expression, I saw her write all the steps very quickly to get the result, ' _Let's hope she rereads what she's writing...'_ I thought to myself as I looked at her.

Rafael, on the other hand, was more cautious, I saw that he had his test between his wings, he was rereading the question several times to avoid making mistakes, _'Too cautious... if you don't hurry up now, you won't be able to finish the test in time...'_ I thought while looking at him, I decided that I had lost too much time, so i started to do all the calculations to be able to finish my test.

After an hour, I had finished my test, meanwhile I had reread several times my test to be sure of my calculations, I had got up from my seat at the ends of the classroom walking in the direction of the professor's desk, with the corner of my eyes, I saw many astonished expressions of my classmates, _'Every time the same story...'_ I thought to myself as I tried to calm myself.

"Professor, I have completed everything on my test" I said while I laid my test on his desk.

"Are you sure Blu? I'm not doubting your skills, I just wish you didn't get caught in a hurry." The math professor said, looking at me in the eyes.

"I'm sure, I've reread my test at least 3 times, rereading it other times will only lead me to create other doubts and uncertainties and this can only lead to correct something I had done right" I answered with a determined expression.

"All right, you can walk around the school in the meantime, come back to the class at the end of the lesson" The professor said opening the door of the classroom.

Once I got out of the classroom, I looked out the window of the corridor where I could see the whole schoolyard, but one thing that struck me at that moment... it was a bird with cerulean plumage... It was Jewel without a single doubt... I saw Jewel in the volleyball court, _'She's doing physical education'_ I thought as I looked from the distance.

Since there was still an hour left at the end of the lesson, I decided to go to the schoolyard to watch her volleyball match, after I reached the schoolyard, I sat in the stands that surrounded the volleyball court, she was really beautiful... even with all that sweat that covered her at that moment... it did nothing but make her shine even more under the light of the sun.

I must admit that Jewel was really good at volleyball, she didn't miss a single pass and raised the ball impeccably, while I was admiring Jewel, I hadn't noticed that besides me there was another Macaw that I knew just by sight, a Blue Macaw just like me... _'It's Roberto'_ I thought as I looked at him.

Suddenly all my shy and antisocial side took over my body, I was slowly running away when suddenly the ball fell over in my direction, the ball didn't hit me but it was near my talon, needless to say I had the attention of all the birds that were present at that moment in the volleyball court...

I smiled as best I could and threw the ball towards the volleyball court, as I did this, saw Jewel with a shocked expression as she blushed uncontrollably, _'I ruined everything... now she can't be herself anymore...'_ I thought as I watched her shaking. _'Better if I walk away from here'_ I thought as I descended from the stands when I was stopped by someone...

"Hey!" A voice said behind me. I turned to see if he was calling me and I saw Roberto approaching me.

"Are you looking for me?" I nervously said.

"Yes, you must be Blu, right?" Roberto said as he looked at me.

"Exactly, can we go and talk elsewhere?" I asked him as I looked at Jewel who was making a few mistakes with her teammates. Roberto turned in the same direction I was looking at, he knew immediately what was happening and nodded. Once we're away from the volleyball court, I turned in the direction of Roberto.

"Do you have something to ask me?" I asked as I looked at him.

"Well, I have a lot to ask you," he said as he giggled.

"I see... I still have half an hour before going back to the class, if you want, you can ask me something now and then during the break we can resume the conversation from where we left off." I said looking at the time on my smartphone.

"Oh, I understand... do you really love Jewel?" He said as he changed his tone of voice.

"Ehm... why you are asking me a question like that?" I nervously said.

"Jewel did nothing but talk about you in the last days, I just want to make sure that your love is sincere and that you're not using her for other purposes." Roberto said with a serious expression.

"Really? Anyway, answering your question... yes, my feelings for Jewel are more than sincere, I would never dream of taking advantage of her." I said with determinate face.

"All right but know that if you make her cry you'll have to deal it with me! Jewel is like a sister to me, if you treat her well, then I won't have any problems with you, it's the first time I see her so in love with someone..." Roberto said looking in the direction of the volleyball court.

"Well ... you can be sure that I will never hurt Jewel... I waited 4 long years before confessing my love for her..." I said as I couldn't finish my sentence. At that moment the bell rang, I took out my smartphone to see the time and I saw that it was time to return to my class.

"Roberto... we'll talk later, now I have to go, say hi to Jewel for me and tell her she's really good at playing volleyball!" I said as I said goodbye to him and headed to my class. Once I reached the class, I saw many lifeless faces in the faces of my classmates...

"Guys... what happened here? Why is everyone with those lifeless faces as if you had faced death in person?" I asked as I entered the classroom door.

"The test... it was impossible to complete in two hours..." My classmate said as he collapsed on the floor.

"Where am I... who am I... what is the purpose of my life?" Another my classmate said while covering his head with his wings.

"I want to go home... I want my mother..." A classmate of mine said with his back turned from the corner of the classroom.

"Wow... it wasn't so hard... if you just repassed the exercises on page 235 of the book, it was a breeze..." I said while trying to console some of my classmates.

"Everything is easier for you... now I have to give the bad news to my parents..." A tearful classmate said while he was texting a message to his parents.

"Well... maybe math won't be your strong point... but I have to admit that you all are very good at acting, maybe in the future you all can become actors!" I said, laughing. My laugh was able to infect anyone inside the class, from a single laugh, it was as if we had become a chorus, a chorus that laughed not thinking about what had just happened, not thinking about the consequences that awaited us but only recovering the strength to continue to live and fight for our school's adventure...

"Blu, you're finally back!" Said a female voice behind me, I turned and saw Rebecca with Rafael.

"Blu... we looked for you everywhere... where did you hide?" Rafael asked me as he playfully hit me on my back.

"Long story... I'll tell you both during the break..." I said while I looked at my friends.

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 **Jewel POV**

 _'Why... why I cannot be myself when I'm near him'_ I thought while the game was over...

"Jewel, what happened to you? You were playing so well..." My professor of physical education asked me with a worried face.

"Ehm... I got distracted too much... that's why I started making mistakes, next time I'll try to be more careful, professor..." I said, lowering my head ashamed of myself.

"Remember that tomorrow afternoon, we have the final of the tournament to play, try to stay more careful then." My teacher said as she put the ball and the volleyball net back into her bag.

 _'The final of the tournament... I cannot absolutely lose it, I've been trying to win this tournament for 4 years... I feel this is the right year to win!'_ I thought to myself as I was preparing to return to the locker room.

"Jewel!" A male voice said behind me. I turned my head and saw Roberto.

"Ah, there you are Roberto, thanks for coming to watch my volleyball match" I said as we continued to walk towards the locker room.

"You're welcome, I have to say that my classmates gave you a good fight, you were playing so well... why did you start shaking?" He asked as he looked at me with a worried look.

"I saw him... Blu was in the stands... I lost my concentration... I didn't want to disappoint his expectations..." I said, recalling what had happened a moment ago.

"I see... ah I was about to forget, Blu told me to say hi to you and that you're very good at playing volleyball" Roberto said smiling. As soon as I heard these words, my heart began to beat faster than ever...

"Ah, thank you Roberto for telling me, I'll see you later then" I said as I entered the locker room.

"Alright, see you later Jewel!" Roberto said waving his wing.

 _'Blu said I'm very good at volleyball... he's really a special guy... also very shy'_ I thought to myself laughing. _'I'll go find him during the break'_ I thought to myself as I changed my clothes.

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 **Blu POV**

The break had finally arrived, I could finally rest my mind after this exhausting school day, I took the sandwiches that my mother had carefully prepared in the morning and I headed in the direction of Rafael and Rebecca.

"So? Are you both coming or not? Because I'm very hungry!" I said with annoyed tone at the sight of my two friends collapsed on their desk.

"I'm very tired... Blu... could you take the bottle of water inside my backpack?" Rafael said as he indicated his backpack with his wing.

"If by giving to you the bottle of water will help me to eat my lunch as soon as possible, then my answer is yes." I said, smiling mischievously.

"You are so mean Blu..." Rebecca said slowly raising her head from her desk.

"Look who's talking, Rebecca the evil goddess, move on that the break won't last forever!" I said, giving the water bottle to Rafael and pulling Rebecca's wing.

After finally being able to drag them out of the classroom, we were headed to the schoolyard, we were sitting in the same place as the time when I confessed my secret to them, _'Despite this place didn't inspire me any happy memory, the important thing is that everything went well'_ I thought to myself as I ate my sandwich.

"Blu, you still haven't told us where you were hiding during the math test," Rafael said as he drank his water bottle.

"Do I look like a kid who likes to hide or is it you both who are unable to look for me?" I said slightly irritated by Rafael's question.

"Sorry guys, I got a bit 'angry, however I was in the volleyball court, watching Jewel's match" I said blushing a little.

"Are you obsessed with her now, are you?" Rebecca said as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"I wouldn't say obsessed... maybe it's better to say madly in love with her..." I said while looking away from my friends.

"And to think that when Rebecca told me what you said on Saturday to Jewel, I didn't believe her, I thought she was doing one of her typical jokes" Rafael said, laughing.

"What did you just say? you don't you trust me?" Rebecca said, getting up from her position and approaching Rafael.

"Um... BLU HELP ME!" Rafael screamed as he started running, followed immediately by Rebecca.

 _'Here comes the evil goddess...'_ I thought to myself as I watched the whole scene and finishing my lunch.

"Blu? Can I sit next to you?" A very familiar voice asked from behind me, I suddenly turned around and saw Jewel...

"Jewel?! Of course, you can sit next to me... especially after those two friends of mine left me alone here, while they're having fun chasing each other." I said giggling as I watched Rafael hide behind a tree.

"They remind me a lot of Roberto along with Mary and Sofia ..." She said as she sat very close to me.

"Uhm... why are you here Jewel? Where are Roberto and your two friends?" I asked nervously trying to not think about how much Jewel was close to me.

"Today Mary and Sofia didn't come to school, Roberto is currently in the football court, training for his football match" she said as she drank a bottle of water.

"I understand, I had proposed to Roberto that I would be available during the break to answer some of his questions." I said, looking at the blue sky that covered the whole city, _'A perfect day to be outdoors'_ I thought to myself.

"What did Roberto ask you out of curiosity?" She asked, turning to me.

"Oh, nothing special, he just wanted to make sure that I really loved you, you're lucky to have a bodyguard like Roberto" I said, laughing.

"You silly bird, Roberto is not my bodyguard, by the way, how come you were at the volleyball court today?" She asked while I watched Rebecca grab a long wooden stick and hit Rafael violently... I had remained silent trying to keep myself from laughing as not to ruin the current atmosphere.

"Ehm... sorry Jewel, I just got distracted... returning to your question... today I had the math test, after finishing it 1 hour before I saw you at the volleyball court, so I decided to join you, I have to admit you're really good at playing volleyball" I said smiling at her.

"Thank you, Blu... it's a pity that once I saw you I lost the concentration I had up to that moment." She said, lowering her head.

"Come on, don't be sad, next time I'll think twice before going to see one of your volleyball match" I said sarcastically.

"No Blu, I'm glad to see you at my match, would you like to come tomorrow at the school to watch the volleyball tournament final?" She said, looking me straight in the eyes.

"Are you sure Jewel? I wouldn't want to make you lose concentration or worse make you play bad..." I said with a worried face.

"I'm sure Blu, today was the first time I saw you at one of my matches... I wouldn't mind if you come and cheer for me..." She said blushing.

"If this makes you happy... then it's fine, I'll be there" I said stretching a wing to hug her but I stopped... _'Isn't that I'm going too fast?'_ I thought to myself as I was about to hug her...

"Blu don't be shy, I know what you want to do... now we are officially engaged" She said smiling and using her wing to grab mine to embrace herself.

"... I still have difficulty getting used to the fact that you love me... everything happened so fast that my brain is still reworking everything that happened to me in this last week." I said as I held her close to me with one of my wings.

"That's how life works, you never know what's waiting for you the next day... put yourself in my shoes, finding out that you're T. Gunderson and you love me on the same day..." she chuckled.

"Yeah, you're right..." I said as a breeze of wind blows against us.

"Blu, do you mind accompany me to my classroom?" Jewel asked shyly.

"Of course, everything for my girlfriend!" I said with a gentleman's voice and stretching my wing to help her get up.

"Sometimes you're really strange Blu... many times you're so shy but look at you now... where did you find all this confidence?" She asked, laughing as she grabbed my wing.

"When I'm near you, Jewel, I feel I can do everything, it's a whole new feeling for me..." I said as we moved towards Jewel's classroom, we were currently holding our wings... I didn't know at that moment whether to let her go or not... I saw that some birds were staring at us with an intrigued look and that did nothing but embarrass me even more...

"Uhm... Jewel, are you sure you want to let the whole school know we're a couple?" I nervously said.

"Of course, yes, what a silly question, Blu, the sooner they know the better it is, do you prefer to see other birds woo me?" She said, smiling mischievously at me.

"Of course not, I'm happy that you care so much about our relationship..." I said holding her wing tighter, Jewel noticed the change in my tone.

"Blu... have more faith in yourself, you're a smarter bird than you think, dare more, I'm sure you have many hidden talents that you don't know you have yet or that you don't realize you have." She said, resting her head on my shoulder.

"Thank you, Jewel, for your motivational speech, I cannot help being embarrassed right now... it's stronger than me..." I said trying to ignore the stare of the other birds.

"Are you telling me that you are ashamed to be near me?" She asked sarcastically, looking me straight in the eye.

"No, no... don't get me wrong, I like being close to you but..." I said timidly.

"But? Come on Blu, you can trust me, don't be afraid" she said seductively.

"Wow I can't believe what I'm seeing..." Said a male voice behind us, I turned immediately and I found myself in front of Professor Edwards... _'I want to die...'_ I thought to myself trying to stay serious and composed.

"Professor Edwards..." Jewel said as she tried to cover her embarrassed face...

"I see that my advice has helped you, Jewel, I'm happy for you two, I hope you two won't be distracted during my lessons!" The professor said giving me a strong pat on my shoulder making me fall to the ground.

"Oh god! Blu are you okay?" Jewel said as she lowered herself to help me get up.

"I'm so sorry Blu... sometimes I cannot control my own strength..." The professor said, grabbing one of my wings and helping me to regain my balance.

"It's nothing professor, don't worry too much, I'm used to such situations with my father" I said giggling as I stood up.

"I'm glad that everything is fine, now I have to go, I have a lesson to attend, see you guys tomorrow!" The professor said, waving his wing as he walked away from us. Finally, I had arrived in front of the Jewel class, I said goodbye to her and she hugged me... I would never get tired of her hugs, receiving a hug from the bird you love, it's an indescribable feeling, needless to say that many other birds have witnessed scene, some boys had begun to howl and whistle as the females reddened.

Once back in my class, I saw that Rebecca and Rafael were already seated at their desk, _'Strange, i thought I'd will found them in the schoolyard_ ' I thought as I approached them.

"Ah here you are Blu, how did it go between you and Jewel?" Rebecca asked, smiling mischievously.

"... Have you both witnessed our conversation?" I asked, not surprised anymore because it was happening more and more often.

"Almost everything, unfortunately we were far from you and so we didn't hear your conversation" Rafael said as he pulled out some books for the next lesson.

"I see... Jewel asked me to go watch her volleyball match tomorrow and I said yes" I said smiling to my two friends.

"Well, if she asked you to come to her match, then I suppose everything went well" Rebecca said while giggling.

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 **Jewel POV**

Once I finished the school, I had returned to the restaurant, since lunch time had already passed, the place was empty and only my parents and my aunt Mimi were present.

"Jewel! You're back! How was your day?" My mother asked me as she cleaned the floor of the restaurant.

"Everything went well mom" I said smiling and putting down my backpack.

"And with your boyfriend? is everything all right between you two?" My aunt Mimi asked as she cleared the tables.

"... I proposed him to come tomorrow to watch my volleyball match, as you don't have time to come and he said yes!" I said, smiling as I helped my mother and aunt.

"Jewel, I hope you remembered to ask him to come and visit us..." My father said as he left the kitchen.

"Uhm... tomorrow after the game I could ask if he has time to come to us, maybe I can ask him to come and have dinner with us." I said trying to reassure my father.

"The more time passes and the more I become curious about this guy of yours, tomorrow remember what you just told me!" My father said with a long sigh.

"Honey, don't worry too much, be patient, after all it's about waiting for only one day, nothing more" My mother said affectionately putting a wing on my father's shoulder.

"All right, I'll try to stay patient for one last day..." My father said unable to reply when my mother behaved in this way.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

The next day, I had just arrived as usual in my class, after greeting to Rebecca and Rafael as usual, I had headed to my desk ready for a new day at school. After a short time, the bell rang as usual, once again the math professor entered the door, but this time he had the stack of yesterday's papers back with him. _'He has already corrected the test?'_ I thought as I watched the professor sit at his desk.

"Good morning students, since yesterday I had a lot of free time, I did you all a favor and I've already corrected your test, let's start with who has done it better, I think all of you can already guess who got the highest mark" Said the professor addressing the whole class.

"Blu!" I heard my name in chorus, needless to say that all of this embarrassed me so much that i tried to cover my face with my wing...

"Exactly, Blu, as usual an impeccable test, congratulations" My professor said while delivering my test on my desk, I gave a quick look at my test and saw that it was without any kind of correction... the only thing that had added the professor was just the mark... _'Better like this'_ I thought while I was still watching the delivery of the test to my other classmates.

"Rebecca and Rafael, excellent work, you made great progress compared to the last time" The professor said smiling while he gave the test to my two friends.

I saw their eyes shining with joy, _'I think it's their first good mark in math'_ I thought to myself chuckling, _'At least I didn't waste these last two days for nothing'_ I thought as I looked at my two friends. Later, at the end of the school, as I had to go and watch Jewel's volleyball match, so I stayed at school and waved goodbye to my friends.

"Thanks Blu for your advice and help" Rebecca said hugging me.

"You're welcome, I just gave you some advice and you just did the rest all by yourself, don't be too humble" I said smiling.

"Look who's talking, you're the humblest among us 3, I thank you again for your help and I hope that your relationship with Jewel will make you even happier because you deserve it." Rafael said, holding my wing to greet me.

"All right, I'll try to be less humble, see you tomorrow then!" I said waving my wing in their direction.

Once the two of them were out of sight, I turned in the direction of the gym, _'I couldn't wait to see Jewel again and to cheer for her...'_ I thought to myself as I moved closer and closer to the place where the final match of the tournament would be held.

Once I entered the gym, I saw a large banner with the words _'Minnesota High-School's Volleyball Cup'_ , the stands were already really crowded, _'Now only the worst places to sit were left'_ I thought to myself as I looked for the best place to sit down.

"Hey Blu! I see that you've finally come, come and sit here! I've kept your place!" Said a voice in the crowd of birds in front of me, after 3 seconds of careful analysis of the source of the voice, I finally saw Roberto.

"Roberto, how did you know I was coming to watch the match?" I asked as I approached him.

"Jewel told me you would come, come on, I kept your place, from here we can watch the whole game without anyone in front of us" Roberto said, pointing with his wing the entire volleyball court.

"You're right, let's say this place that you kept for me it's like VIP seats" I said, laughing with him.

"You're a very funny guy, Blu you know what? I begin to understand why Jewel has chosen you... "Roberto said, looking at me.

"Really? And why would she choose me?" I asked, intrigued by his statement.

"Well, Jewel is a girl that sometimes is too serious, having someone like you with her will surely brighten her day, don't you think so too?" Roberto said smiling at me.

"I had never thought about it; Jewel and I have known each other only recently... but I suppose that the saying _'The opposites attract each other'_ is really true..." I said as I watched some birds come in through the main entrance of the gym and starting to fill all the remaining seats in the stands.

"I agree with you Blu, I've known Jewel since we were kids, I've never seen her so happy... so full of life... I'm glad she finally found her soul mate" Roberto said as he watched some staff birds quickly cleaning the floor before the start of the match.

"Oh yes, we spend our whole life looking for the soul mate who knows how to fill the emptiness within us, many times we don't just dwell on things we have in common, finding a partner who knows how to compensate our own faults and fill the void in our heart... isn't everyone's goal? Am I right? Finding the soul mate who knows how to make us perfect..." I said smiling at him.

"Wow Blu... I don't know about you but you can have a career as a writer, have you ever thought of becoming a writer? In my opinion you would have a great success selling books that contain pearls of wisdom like that" Said Roberto laughing and giving me a pat on the shoulder. _'If only he knew it... it's too funny...'_ I thought to myself, trying to keep myself from laughing.

"Look Blu! They are coming in!" Roberto said, pointing to a part of the court as he pulled my wing to get my attention. _'There she is... although it's only been one day... it seems like an eternity has passed...'_ I thought to myself as I stared at Jewel in the middle of the volleyball court.

Once our eyes met each other, we both blushed, it was stronger than us... even though we were already in a relationship... _'I still feel the need to conquer her... I feel like I have not done enough for her yet... it's a strange feeling... it's as if my head was telling me that what I've done so far wasn't enough and I had to do a lot more...'_ I thought to myself as I stared at her smiling.

 **(AN: Ok here comes the tricky part, I know how the volleyball moves are called in Italian, I tried looking in internet to find the right translation, so if you spot any mistake, let me know it in the reviews or via pm)**

The game began very well, Jewel's team was much fitter than the other team, none of them missed a pass and their spikes were deadly, the opponents team tried each time in vain to block the ball and counter it but it was completely useless. The first set was very easy, I saw Jewel very tired and breathing very quickly, she was definitely the best of the first set, however, all this at the cost of her stamina...

"Roberto, do you think Jewel can hold another set if she keeps playing like that? I think she should leave more room for her teammates... I'm not saying she's playing wrong or something else but, in my opinion, she's doing more than what she should do..." I said with a worried expression as I looked at Jewel sitting on the floor.

"I agree with you Blu, volleyball is a team game, she should focus on doing her part leaving the rest for her teammates..." Roberto said while looking at the opposing team.

"Blu look! the opposing team doesn't seem to be tired at all... it is as if they had deliberately lost the first set to beat Jewel's team in the following sets..." Roberto said pointing at the opposing team.

"You're right, a very smart plan... I hope that Jewel is smart enough to understand their plan..." I said with a worried face.

The second set began, the team of Jewel was definitely in trouble... the opposing team was as if they had suddenly changed the pace of the game, they were more aggressive and when they identified a weak point in the Jewel's team... they all focused on her... Jewel in this case was the weak point, because of her great effort in the first set, she could no longer play at her best, soon the second set ended with a clear dominance of the opposing team.

"As I had imagined... it was their plan since the beginning, surely, they were well informed about the team of our school, they knew very well that our weak point was the stamina..." Roberto said while he saw the whole team of Jewel in pieces and on the ground.

"It's not good... if they continue like this they'll end up losing..." I said while I suddenly had an idea... I got up from my seat and approached Jewel's team with a very determined expression and a precise plan in head.

"Girls... you all had fallen in their trap, they are doing it on purpose to make you all lose your stamina and then they hit you even harder than before to score points... if you all want to win... all of you must listen to my plan..." I said looking at each member of Jewel's team. Initially they were all skeptical of the fact that someone like me, without any experience in the field, can have a plan to win the game... but they soon changed their mind, my plan had convinced everyone and soon I returned to my place ready to watch the final set.

"Blu? What did you just say to the girls? They all seem very determined compared to before..." Roberto said looking at the faces of all 6 members of the Jewel's team.

"I simply gave each one of them a motivational speech, in such a situation, losing such an important set with such a big gap of points... anyone would be demoralized, I simply reminded each of them of the stakes, I reminded them of all the bird who were present here... I reminded them to not give up and fight because the game was still open... in addition to everything, even some weak points of the opposing team that I scrupulously noticed and memorized "I said, smiling mischievously.

"Ok Blu... when you smile like that... you make me really scared... where is the shy and socially awkward Blu that I met the day before?" Roberto asked with a worried face.

"Roberto, you still know me very little... you don't know that I'm an extremely competitive bird, especially when there's an award at stake, in these moments it's like my shy part of myself surrendered and set off to make room for the more aggressive and determined part of myself "I said while watching the Jewel's team back on the volleyball court.

The third set started, it was the last set, who will win this set, wins the game. The two teams started both very aggressive, neither of them wanted to give up, the stakes were too big to give up right now. The opposing team had used the usual pattern, a fake spike and then let the player to the left to spike in the opposite direction, but this time things went differently, Jewel who immediately understood everything, had immediately dived into the direction of where the ball would land a few milliseconds before, this had allowed her team to prepare a deadly counterattack that literally caught the entire opposing team by surprise.

The match was very hard fought, although the team of Jewel was doing very well, the opposing team had other aces up its sleeve, soon we reached the score of 22 to 24 for the opposing team, match point for them... one single mistake and the Jewel's team would have lost... Jewel was serving in that moment and I... it was stronger than me I couldn't shut up.

"JEWEL YOU CAN DO IT! I BELIEVE IN YOU!" I screamed as hard as I could, not caring for the perplexed looks of the birds next to me.

I saw Jewel's eyes shining and soon a very determined expression formed on her face, she got ready and jumped high up crushing the ball as hard as she could, the ball had flown straight to her opponent catching her by surprise, 23 to 24, _'It wasn't over yet'_ I thought to myself.

Jewel prepared again to serves the ball, this time the ball had been hit with a spin to effect, as soon as the opponent touched the ball, the ball went in the opposite direction of the court leaving no chance for the opponent team to recover the ball in any way, 24 to 24.

 _'Wow'_ I thought to myself as I watched this scene, Jewel was dragging her whole team... she lost no time and hit the ball again very violently, this time it looked like the ball was going out of the court... but to everyone's surprise, it didn't go out, the ball had been hit impeccably and in a millimeter way... as if she was a sniper... 25 to 24... _'Match point for our team...'_ I thought while I stood up because it was too much... adrenaline had entered my veins, I had to show my support in some way...

Jewel immediately noticed me standing up in the middle of the crowd of bird in the stand, she smiled at me and turned back to the opposing team more determined than ever, she had absolutely no intention of surrendering, it wasn't like her to do something like that, she started running and jumped high into air, this whole scene was as if I had seen it in slow motion, I saw the sweat fall from her forehead as she took the run-up and the smile with which she hit the ball in the air... The whole crowd had remained silent, they were all lifeless like zombies observing the trajectory of the ball, the ball reached the court of the opponents and as soon as they touched the ball, it was as if the ball had come to life and decided that they weren't the ones to win today but the team that had putted more effort, the ball fell in the direction of the referee, the effort of the opposing team was useless, it was uncatchable and so the ball touched the ground...

There was a moment of silence, no one was understanding what had just happened, Jewel had practically made 4 aces in a row... she had ended the match all by herself... the referee with his whistle signaled the end of the match causing the many scream of happiness and joy of the entire crowd of birds, you couldn't understand anything, I saw the opposing team kneeling on the ground still incredulous what had just happened before their eyes... while the team of Jewel... needless to say they were joyfully jumping and hugging each other.

 **(AN: This match is inspired by ITALY - USA, if you are curious, go and find the video called "[Volleyball] Ivan Zaytsev of Italy kills USA with 4 aces in a row #quattrolavatrici". PS: the hashtag #quattrolavatrici literally means 4 washing machines for an obvious reason if you watched the video lol)**

"Wow, what a game..." I said, pulling a long sigh...

"Blu... it's not over yet, look who's coming for you..." Roberto said as he pointed to the volleyball court.

"I don't understand, what do you want to tell me?" I answered turning in the direction in which Roberto was pointing, in that precise moment I was assailed by 6 girls all sweaty and excited... maybe this wasn't the best description of that moment... but in front of my eyes I saw that... They lifted me from my seat and started throwing me into the air as if I were the one who made them win the game... Once I got back on the ground, I saw Jewel approaching me.

"Jewel you were fantastic..." I said but I was interrupted... it happened what I never expected to happen... she hugged me very violently but I didn't mind that at all, I didn't care if she was sweaty or less, she would remain my one and only Jewel... I returned the hug and whispered in her ears...

"Jewel, you did something so amazing that i can still hardly believe... you did 4 aces in a row... I've never seen a girl more determined than you..." I said smiling at her.

"Thanks Blu, thank you for giving me a bit of your courage and determination..." She said timidly.

"But Jewe-" I said when the unthinkable happened, Jewel at that moment, with a quick gesture, used my body to get up on the same level of my face and kissed me... it was our first kiss... and we did it in front of everyone... but I didn't care, for me there was only me and her, the others were like secondary characters that at the time, they didn't have any importance...

The kiss of Jewel hit me like a thunderbolt, as soon as our two beaks came in contact, I slowly closed my eyes and a strong impulse hit my whole body... I was paralyzed but managed to return the kiss, while I was kissing Jewel, with my wing I held her close to me, I didn't want to let her go... of course, only under her consent...

After 20 long and interminable seconds, we parted, _'It was an indescribable feeling'_ I thought while staring at her turquoise eyes, I heard the whole crowd applauding and whistling... even Roberto, all this was new to me... I was certainly not used to receiving such attentions from other birds...

"Jewel... it was amazing..." I said as I breathed heavily.

"You're right... sorry if I kissed you without your consent" She said looking at me shyly.

"You don't have to apologize my silly bird, you managed to snatch my first and only kiss, Jewel... no other bird in the world will ever have a chance to kiss me... the only one who is allowed is you..." I said, smiling at her.

"The same is true for me, no other bird in the world will have a chance to kiss me, except you" she said, smiling seductively at me.

"Hey lovebirds, it thinks it's enough... the award ceremony is starting!" Roberto said interrupting our intimate moment. I turned to the referee and saw that there were 3 other birds dressed in suits and ties, _'They must be tournament organizers'_ I thought as I stared at them with Jewel.

"What are you waiting for Jewel? Go and receive the prize you have conquered with effort and sweat! "I said giving her a little push.

She gave me a mischievous look and smiled at me, once turned, she hurried to join her teammates for the award ceremony, after each of them received a gold medal, another Macaw had entered the court with the trophy in between her wing... it was wonderful... a trophy placated in gold and engraved with the emblem of our school... _'But how did they engrave the emblem of our school on the trophy? And what's more when they had time to do it...'_ I thought to myself surprised to see all of this.

Once the trophy ended up between the wings of our school's team, there was a chorus singing: _'We are the champions! We are the champions!'_. I laughed once I heard this chorus, _'They deserved it, they had poured blood and sweat to get where they are now...'_ I thought to myself as I saw them singing happily. Immediately after the award ceremony, the moment of the photo had arrived, while I was talking to Roberto, someone grabbed me and dragged me away from him, I turned and saw Jewel and her team dragging me towards the center of the court.

"What are you doing? Are you going to kidnap me?" I asked, scared of what was happening.

"No, my silly blue bird, you must be inside our commemorative photo" Jewel said giggling as she pulled my wing.

"But why? I'm not part of your team..." I asked, confused by everything that was happening.

"You made a very brave gesture, you saw and observed every single move of the opponent and you acted accordingly helping the team of your school, motivating them to win the trophy, you deserve it!" The physical education professor said, smiling at me.

I was speechless... I couldn't argue back, they were right... I putted myself to the side of the team smiling as usual when someone put a wing behind my back, I had a shiver at that time, I turned my head and I suddenly saw Jewel smiling mischievously at me.

"Where do you think you're going to go? Do you really think I'll miss a chance like this? This will be our first picture together..." She said, grabbing me and looking at the camera.

"The first of a long series of photos..." I said, whispering in her ears and smiling in the direction of the camera. The flash of the camera blinded us in that moment immortalizing forever that memory... _'That memory that I'll never and ever forget... every time I'll look at that picture, I'll remember the memory of our first kiss...'_ I thought between me smiling. After another 30 minutes, it was all over, everyone was already gone and we were only 3 birds in the volleyball court.

"Blu... I thank you very much for cheering me and for believing in me..." She said shyly as she looked at me.

"I'm sure you could have won even if I wasn't there" I said holding her wing tighter.

"Blu... I forgot to ask you if you could come with me for a dinner... let's say that my family cannot wait to meet you..." She said while looking at me with very hopeful eyes.

"Ehm... why didn't you tell me sooner? I suppose your father cannot wait to know me, right? Your mother and I have already met..." I said timidly.

"Exactly, my father cannot wait to meet you... don't worry, if he has something against you, he will have to deal it with me and my mother!" She said with a determined face.

"You don't have to argue with your father just for me... okay, just give me a moment to call my mother and warning her that tonight I won't be at home for dinner..." I said as I turned and walked away from Jewel and Roberto.

* * *

 **Jewel POV**

"You're luckier than what you think Jewel..." Roberto said as I watched Blu turn away from us.

"What do you mean Roberto?" I asked, confused by his sentence.

"Blu is special... it took me a day to realize it, someone like him... keep him tight to you, Jewel, trust my eye" Roberto said smiling.

"Of course I will, when he started screaming trying to get my cheer me up... it was great... he put aside all his fears and insecurities he had at that moment and didn't think about the consequences that his gesture could bring..." I said as I looked at Blu on the phone.

"Jewel, help him overcome this limit, today is the proof, behind that tender and innocent face, hides a truly courageous and determined bird... Blu is one of a kind... and what's more he is very wise! I told him he would have an excellent career as a writer. "Roberto said looking at me.

"Ahahah... yes... he would really be a great writer..." I said trying to be sarcastic.

"Ok, good news Jewel, today I will come to you for dinner!" He said as he smiled at me.

"Perfect, then I leave you both alone, see you tomorrow Blu and Jewel!" Roberto said as he left the school gym.

"So Jewel, are you ready? I think your father will be very worried if we'll be late..." Blu said, stretching his wing like a good gentleman.

"Lead the way, my blue bird" I said as I followed him. Now it was already winter, the days became shorter and shorter, once out of school, it was already night, the street lights who are scattered across the street, lit up our path toward our destination...

"Blu? Could you hold my wing?" I asked shyly, unable to keep myself from blushing.

"If I hold your wing, will I make you happy?" He asked, smiling at me.

"O-o-of course..." I replied a little 'impressed by his confidence.

"If doing that will make you happy, then I'll do it," he said, stretching his wing and holding mine tightly.

I had felt for the first time in my life complete... with him at my side I wouldn't have been afraid of anyone... as we walked the long streets at night, I couldn't help but admire he's beauty... he's dark blue plumage blended perfectly with the night sky... _'I never realized how beautiful he was...'_ I thought to myself as I tried to not distract myself too much.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

Once we arrived in front of the restaurant of Jewel, I immediately noticed the name of the restaurant, _'Birds Of Blue Feathers'_... I couldn't help myself... I had to find out more about this name...

"Jewel? Why is your restaurant called this way?" I asked her as I pointed to the restaurant sign.

"It's part of our family motto, _'birds of blue feather must stick together!'_ This motto reminds us that we'll never be alone, we'll always have the support of our family in any situation..." She said, smiling and tightening her grip on my wing.

"I understand... I really like your family motto!" I said as I approached the front door of the restaurant, it was a fairly rustic place with a very familiar atmosphere and a long history behind it, _'The first time I hadn't noticed all these details...'_ I thought to myself as I opened the door of the restaurant, I took a long sigh and decided that I wouldn't have pulled back and decided to cross the door, above the door there was a small bell that served to detect any customers entering or leaving the restaurant.

The place was quite crowded, it was dinner time after all and the customers had priority, but it still remained very welcoming place, I saw Jewel go to the dressing room and go out with the maid uniform... _'She looks beautiful as ever...'_ I thought to myself as I watched her from the entrance door...

"Blu, can you wait for a moment? I'll quickly help my parents so we can start our family dinner right away." She said, smiling fondly as she rushed to a table to take orders from customers.

"Good evening, how can I help you?" Jewel said, pulling out a small notebook ready to wrote every customer order.

"Could you bring me the house specialty along with a bottle of water? "The customer said when he finished reading the menu.

"Of course, they'll be here as soon as possible." Jewel said as she ran into the kitchen to deliver the order.

I was ready to follow her but I was stopped by another female Blue Macaw between 30 to 40 years old, _'Strange... she isn't Jewel's mom but who is she? She must surely be a relative of Jewel, I have no doubt, they resemble mainly for their cerulean plumage, she had almost the same color of the eyes of my father... the only difference with my father is he had darker blue eyes'_ I though while looking at her with a puzzled look.

"Good evening, please follow me to that free table" The female Blue Macaw said, smiling at me.

"Ehm... I'm here for family dinner..." I replied shyly rubbing the back feathers of my neck...

"Family dinner? What do you mean with family dinner? Isn't this a restaurant? "she said giggling as she looked at me with a curious look. _'I was speechless... this is a very awkward situation... I had to immediately regain control of my body...'_ I thought to myself as I tried to explain the real reason why I was here.

"Wait a minute, are you that famous boy called Blu? Jewel's boyfriend?" She asked, smiling and squeezing my cheeks. Hearing her statement, I began to blush... _'Jewel's boyfriend... I would never be tired of hearing those words...'_ I thought to myself as I tried to stay serious and determined.

"Y-yes... I'm Jewel's boyfriend... my name is Blu, it's a pleasure to meet you" I said, stretching my wing to greet her.

"Nice to meet you Blu! My name is Mimi, Jewel lately does nothing but talk about you" She replied, smiling and hugging me. Of course, all this made me even more uncomfortable but fortunately Jewel came to help me in with this very embarrassing situation.

"I see that you have already met my aunt Mimi... Blu, can you wait another half hour? Unfortunately there are still some customers who haven't finished eating yet..." She said looking at some tables with still some customers seated.

"Of course Jewel, don't worry about me, finish what you have to finish" I said as I sat down on a armchair in the corner of the restaurant and watched the scene of Jewel and her aunt working hard to serve customers in the most efficient and fastest way possible. All of a sudden someone approached me.

"Are you by chance Blu?" A male voice said next to me.

Once I heard that male voice, I turned my head and found myself in front of a male Blue Macaw of the same age as the mother of Jewel, he was a very muscular and tall Macaw, a bit like my father, he shares Jewel's same facial markings, he has pale green eyes and a short crest of flattened feathers on the top of his head.

"Yes... my name is Blu..." I answered in a rather shy way. As soon as he heard my answer, suddenly on his face formed a smile, _'I don't know how to explain it but for a bird like him, even though I didn't know him well, he looked more like a stern guy but then why are he smiling at me?'_ I thought to myself as I looked at his face without looking away.

"Nice to meet you Blu, my name is Eduardo, you don't know how long I've been waiting to meet the guy who was able to steal my daughter's heart." He said as he patted my shoulder.

"Excuse me, have a little more patience because we will soon start our family dinner" He smiled at me and headed to the kitchen. After another 20 minutes, the place was empty, there were in total 5 Macaws including myself... slowly the other 4 Macaw, after having set a table, they had immediately called me to join them.

"Come on Blu, don't be shy" said Jewel's mother smiling at me. I nodded nervously and went straight to their table, once I sat down, Jewel immediately rushed to my side to help me deal with this embarrassing situation...

"Mom, do you remember that today I had the final match of the volleyball tournament?" Jewel said looking at her mother.

"Of course, Jewel, sorry if I forgot to ask you... how did it go?" Her mother asked looking at me and Jewel.

"We won! A good part of the credit goes to Blu, without his support I couldn't have won!" She said showing the medal she had received recently to her mother with a joyful face.

"But Jewel... all the credit goes to you and your 4 aces in a row" I said smiling at her family.

"Congratulations to both of you then!" Jewel's mother said as she admired her daughter's golden medal.

"Did I hear it well, honey? Did our daughter win the volleyball tournament?" Jewel's father said as he walked out of the kitchen with Mimi while holding some dishes in their wings.

"Exactly, then Blu, I'll introduce you to our family even if you already know me, I'm Sarah, Jewel's mother, he's Eduardo, my husband and Jewel's father, then Eduardo's elder sister Mimi, Jewel's aunt" Jewel's mother said introducing me to every single member of their family.

"Nice to meet you all, my name is Blu" I said, addressing to Jewel's whole family. The dinner went well, the family of Jewel was very curious to know many more things about me, I strangely managed to stay calm, _'I have to admit that their dishes are very delicious...'_ I thought to myself while I was enjoying the dishes of the restaurant.

"So Blu, how did you meet my daughter?" Jewel's father asked me as he finished drinking a glass of red wine.

"I met Jewel 5 years ago on my first day of school, since I was very shy, I never talked to her... but 2 months ago we met by chance at the supermarket, that was the first time we spoke to each other." I said, thinking back to our first meeting.

"Is it true that you started writing inspiring yourself to our daughter? I'm going to read some of your books, my daughter always told me about this T. Gunderson and his books, unfortunately for various commitments I never had the time but now that you've become my daughter's boyfriend, I have no more excuses to postpone it! " Her mother said smiling at me.

"Thanks for all your compliments and anyway, Jewel was my motivation since the beginning along with my parents... she was and still is my muse that inspired many of my stories and that led me to start writing books." I said embarrassed by her mother's compliments.

"So Blu, I heard you were able to motivate my daughter today and make her win the volleyball tournament" Jewel's father said, looking at me in my direction.

"Well... I didn't do so much... I just gave her and her team some advice and motivated them... nothing more" I said humbly.

"It seems to me that what you did was more than useful, without your help they wouldn't have won today" Jewel's aunt said with a smiling face while she was drinking a glass of wine like Jewel's father.

"Jewel is a very determined girl, she would never give up, I'm sure that even if I hadn't been there, she would still have found a way to win" I said smiling to her family. There was a moment of silence... her family looked at each other smiling and nodding, I wasn't understanding at all what was about to happen when suddenly Jewel's father got up from his chair.

"Blu, can I talk to you for a moment in private?" Jewel's father asked me, looking me in the face.

"Ehm... yes, of course you can..." I said shyly as I got up from my chair, fearing I'd done something wrong. We headed to the kitchen where the rest of the family couldn't hear us, once we arrived, Jewel's father turned in my direction ready to begin with his questions.

"Do you really love my daughter as you say?" His father said, looking me straight in the eye.

"More than you can ever imagine sir, thanks to your daughter, now I have a new purpose in my life" I answered with a determined face.

"Do you promise that you'll always protect my daughter and that you'll never do anything to make her suffer or feel sad?" He asked, not looking away from me.

"I promise to always stand by your daughter side and never leave her alone, I will do everything to make her always happy, I am well aware that you sir, still has many uncertainties about me, but it's fine for me, trust is something that must be obtained with hard work and I intend to get it, just give me a chance sir... i won't disappoint you, I will show you that I am able to make her truly happy..." I said with a determined face and not looking away from her father to show no weakness.

Eduardo, satisfied with my answers, made me return to the room where the rest of his family was, after another hour of talk, where I quickly explained my career as a writer, my relationship with Jewel and my plans for the future... I decided that it was already late and I had to return to my home.

Everyone agreed with me and we said goodbyes while I was leaving the restaurant, Jewel chased me and hugged me, kissing me on my cheek and making me blush uncontrollably, causing an uncontrolled laugh among her family members.

* * *

 **Jewel POV**

Once Blu left the restaurant, I hurried to clear the table and tidy up the chairs when my mother came up to me.

"I see that you two love each other very much..." My mother said, putting a wing on my shoulder.

"From what I've seen, he's an honest and sincere boy, I hope that he keeps his promise, he's very wise... he's a writer after all..." my father said as he took some dishes and then walking toward the kitchen.

"Thank you, mom and dad, for treating him well and to have put him at ease." I said proudly of my parents' behavior.

"I agree with what your parents said and I have to say that he's a really charming Macaw" My aunt said giggling and making me blush.

"Jewel, for now you're allowed to date with Blu, but remember, no silly behavior, you know exactly what I'm currently referring to and if you are going out somewhere, you must warn me in advance, do we understood each other?" My father said, looking at me in my direction.

"Thank you so much dad, I was sure that you would've liked Blu just like me after all..." I said as I hugged my dad.

"Jewel, can I talk to you for a second?" My mother whispered to me, trying to not get my father's and my aunt's attention.

"Of course mom..." I replied nervously not knowing what she wanted to tell me.

"You kissed Blu isn't it?" My mother asked, slightly covering her beak with her wing as not to make other members of my family hear what she just said.

"H-h-how... how did you know it?!" I asked with a shocked face to my mother.

"What did you expect? Kissing Blu during the final match with such an audience? A dear friend of mine has sent me this picture" My mother said as she showed me a picture on her smartphone.

There was no doubt... it was me and Blu in the picture... and it was also taken from a corner where there couldn't be any doubts... even though I only took a look at the picture, my heart began to beat stronger and faster just thinking back to that unforgettable moment between me and him...

"Sorry mum... I couldn't control myself..." I timidly said with a flushed face.

"You don't have to apologize... but promise me that you will go slowly... I know that you love him madly but I remind you that you have a whole life in front of you... don't rush and enjoy every single day of your life together with him, your father and your aunt don't know it yet but if you promise me what I just told you, then this will remain our little secret between mother and daughter "My mother said smiling at me.

"Thanks mum... thank you for being so understanding to me..." I said hugging her tightly, letting some tears fall.

"Don't cry Jewel... you're growing up so fast that... I'll miss these mother's and daughter's moments..." My mother said with a melancholy tone.

"What do you mean mom? I'm not going to abandon you!" I replied, confused by my mother's statement.

"When you'll have a family of your own, you'll have new tasks and responsibility to do... and as a result I'll see you less and less..." my mother said looking at me with a saddened face.

"I will always find some free time to dedicate to the best mother in the world, you can be sure of it!" I said, smiling at my mother.

"... You have been and will always be the blessing of my life... you, together with your father have known how to make me truly happy and to not regret anything in my entire life..." My mother said dropping few tears.

"Mom... don't start crying too... you have you just comforted me and now you're starting to cry?" I said, giving my mother a tissue and then laughing with her.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

Once I got home, I was greeted by my parents who immediately bombarded me with questions about how it went between me and Jewel's family.

"Son, how did it go?" My mother immediately asked me with a worried face.

"Mom... I only met and knew Jewel's parents... I didn't go to war or something like that... anyway everything went well, they were all very kind and treated me like I was one of the family" I said looking at my parents.

"Son, you know how to cheer the atmosphere up, I'm glad it went well... I, unlike you, to have the wing of your mother I had to prove to her father that I was strong, brave and able to defend her... know that it wasn't easy at all" My father said immersed in his old memories.

"I remember everything, you were fantastic honey... nobody before you had managed to convince my father to get even just an date with me." My mother said, smiling seductively at my father.

"Camilla for you I would do anything, you know it right?" My father said, smiling at my mother.

"Of course I know that, you silly bird" My mother said as she kissed my father.

While my parents continued their conversation, I went upstairs, once I entered my room, I threw myself on top of my bed, 'Love... makes me feels alive...' I thought to myself as I stared at the nighttime view of Moose Lake from the window of my room.

* * *

 **Here we are at the end of the chapter, now I'm really tired... I spent most of Sunday morning staring at my computer without knowing how to start this new chapter, after lunch I finally started to throw down some idea and from there on, I no longer stopped myself, I decided to stop at 1 am on Monday morning because I was pushing myself too much lol.**

 **Fun Fact: Almost the whole Sunday to write everything. On Monday i reread everything and added some detail, Tuesday i started the translation progress and i still don't know how i managed to finish it in time, Wednesday i proof read everything. Moral of the story? Never again lol, i did it only because i had a free week and had a lot of inspiration, next time i will take my time.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the volleyball match that I added, I'm planning to do a similar chapter later maybe for Roberto and football or soccer as you call it, let me know in the reviews if you like this idea.**

 **Originally Jewel and Blu first kiss will only come during Christmas... but when i wrote that scene... it was stronger than me, i can't let such a occasion slip without making it special xD i hope you all ejoyed their first kiss :)**

 **Every time I translate from Italian to English, let's say that if my chapter is 9k words long, once translated into English it usually becomes 10 to 11k words long, I would say quite handy right? lol, however, seeing that I have already reached 50k of words for this story, I really think that the final length will be about 100k or close... it would be a dream to reach that goal for my first story...** **and when i say 100k, it's beacause I originally planned to end this story with the Minnesota Book Fair, but seeing all your reviews etc... I may make it longer... but it all depends on my free time and my motivation.**

 **Continue to leave me reviews, as I wrote at the beginning of the chapter, now I'm writing only for that reason... I'm joking, I also write because I like my story, but writing 10k of word per chapters every week... I wouldn't do it if I didn't receive all your compliments and reviews... regarding my grammar... I tell you the truth... I use google translator, I think most of you already guessed it, but don't worry, 80% of the time I have to step in and change the order of the words etc... however I have to admit that google translator has improved a lot since the last time I used it.**

 **PS: Is it normal that when i was writing this chapter i was so excited, now that i proof read it twice my reaction is only a meh... it's a very weird sensation, i had many doubts about publishing this chapter or not... I thinks it's because i have too much high expectation from my story? let me know in the review if you enjoyed or not this chapter...**

 **Enough talk and I hope to see you all in my next chapter of A Reason To Live :)**

 **~Fenix139**


	6. A Piece Of My Soul Part 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** **Welcome back to my sixth chapter of 'A Reason To Live', it wasn't easy, working full time is really tiring and you really realize how little free time you really have...**

 **I start with a big WOW, 785 views 8 Favorite and 9 Follows... incredible... I would like to thank** **CreeperMaster343** **,** **MakapoK** **and** **ZeKaizerGuy** **for adding my story to your favorites and following story... thank you very much!**

 **In addition to all of that, 6 reviews... (in truth 5, but it's okay xD), you are definitely spoiling me, (Not that I mind** **(͡ ° ͜ʖ ͡ °)** **) as usual, Fanfiction guy, you always leave these long reviews with lots of ideas... Thank you very much for all your idea, if you carefully read this chapter, you will see that I have included some of your ideas.**

* * *

' **Firstly, it may be good to include a scene where Blu and Rafael join the schools Chess Club (I had one in my high school) where Blu teaches Rafael how to be observant and mindful of the present (chess is a brilliant mind and strategy game)' : ****Mmh, I'll think about it, I know how to play chess, if I ever add it, I'll have to go and study some tactics xD**

 _ **'Secondly, it may be a good idea to mention Nigel as a potential bully in this story (he maybe the school bully)': **_**I was going to discard your idea but... thinking better, you gave me a good idea to add in the next chapter, you'll see it soon with your own eyes :)**

 _ **'Thirdly, since Blu is considered to be a 'nerd bird' in the Rio franchise, it maybe suitable to include some sort of 'science fair' competition (however I think this may distract you from 'the Minnesota book fair' that Blu is writing a book for so its probably best not to include it but it's still on offer if you want to use it)' : **_**I agree with your observation, but I will keep this idea in mind, you never know, maybe I will add it in the future.**

 _ **'Fourthly, a think a good second date for Blu and Jewel would be to go to an ice skating rink or (because Minnisota is frozen in the winter) the two Blue Macaw's could go ice skating during the Christmas holidays where Blu teaches Jewel how to ice skate (using their talons)' : **_**You gave me a very good idea for the next chapter! I will certainly add this part to my story!**

 _ **'Also, on the Christmas subject, it maybe a good idea to have Blu and Jewel kiss under a M**_ ** _istletoe_** _ **' : **_**To be honest, before your comment I did not even know what a mistletoe was lol, after some searching, I decided to forget it, I don't want to 'Force' their kiss xD but good idea, maybe for the next year? Only if I'm going to continue this story even further than the Minnesota books fair.**

 _ **'Another idea would probably be Jewel in the school choir as in the 1st Rio film, Jewel sung in an angelic manner during the song 'I wanna party,' where Blu hears rumours from Roberto that she'll be performing at the town hall' : **_**Mmh ... I'll think about it, I'm definitely going to make Jewel sing, maybe a song dedicated to Blu but I'll keep this idea in mind!**

 _ **'Also I'm not sure about this idea but it maybe good to include some sort of scene where Jewel supports Blu in his book writing and even provides him with some form of inspiration as she is his muse' : **_**This will be an idea that I will slowly integrate with my story, I already have in mind a chapter dedicated to Blu and Jewel while he is writing his book.**

 _ **'Finally, this idea is just for irony, I would recommend adding a class where Jewel is learning Portugese and she teases Blu by speaking to him in phrases he doesn't understand' : **_**Mmh, this is a alternative universe (AU), in this story Jewel has never learned Portuguese, but if the idea of making a vacation to RIO will become reality, I could make Jewel learn very quickly the Portuguese while Blu will struggle learning it.**

 **As usual, I thank you for all these ideas, if other people have ideas to suggest me, don't be shy! You already know how to contact me :)**

* * *

 **As anticipated in the last chapter, this is the first part of chapter 6, I divided it into two parts because it was taking too much time to publish a chapter. The chapter 6 is long 13k words lol, I had no reason to not split it in half because a chapter of 7.416 words is more than enough, I'll have to learn to manage better the length of my chapters.**

 **PS: It seems strange that no one has written this in the reviews... I am well aware that in Moose Lake, Minnesota there aren't 4 seasons, it almost always snow there, I knew from the beginning but I chose to set my story here because it seemed very wrong to choose a city that had nothing to do with RIO movie, but hey, this story cannot be realistic lol, already a world where there's only birds is already more than unreal.**

* * *

-A Piece Of My Soul Part 1

 **Third Person POV**

December was finally here, that time of year when birds were starting to think about gifts, family dinners, relatives who hadn't seen for a long time... However, someone today didn't feel very good, he continued to cough and he had a bit of a headache since last night.

It was Eduardo, the night before he couldn't sleep at all because of the storm that wasn't finished yet and his slight fever, however he didn't want to make his wife and daughter worry so he decided to hide the fact that he hadn't recovered yet, but he definitely felt better than the night before.

As he could no longer sleep, Eduardo thought of making a surprise to his family, but what kind of surprise... he thought between himself, suddenly he had a flash of genius! He decided that he would prepare breakfast for his family!

* * *

 **Eduardo POV**

 _'I'm really tired...'_ I thought to myself as I tried to get up without waking my wife Sarah who was still in her deep sleep, _'She's really beautiful... even while sleeping, she will never cease to impress me with her beauty...'_ I thought to myself as I kissed her in the forehead, I stretched a little and got out of our bed to head to the door, _'I will surprise my family with a breakfast that they won't easily forget!'_ I thought to myself while I was doing some stretching near the bed, I took a quick look at the window of the room, the sound of the rain was echoing in the whole room, _'This will be very useful for me to complete my plan'_ I thought to myself as I headed to the door of the bedroom, however on the way to the door I accidentally stumbled on a box that was strangely in the middle of the bedroom.

 _'What's this box doing in the middle of the room?!'_ I asked between me as I grabbed it with my wings and moved it to a corner of the bedroom. As I was moving the box, I heard my wife mumble something as she turned into our bed, I stood still and silent, fearing that I had ruined the surprise effect I had in mind but at the sight of my wife with an angelic expression on her face as she still slept deeply reassured me, I took a long happy sigh of not having disturbed her as I continued to head towards the door.

Once arrived, I remembered that since I didn't oil the door of our bedroom for a long time, it creaked a bit 'too much for my taste, I tried to make as little noise as possible, I opened it slowly trying to not do it too fast and to produce that annoying creak. Once I had opened a gap large enough for me to be able to get out, I quickly jumped taking care to not hit any object in the middle of my trajectory, I don't know how I did it but I managed to get out of the room without waking up my wife, _'I really have some ninja skills inside me'_ I thought to myself quietly chuckling as I left the room.

The kitchen was located downstairs and to get there I had to pass by the stairs, it seemed like an easy task but it wasn't at all, next to the stairs, there was my daughter's room... my daughter Jewel was a very smart, alert and attentive girl, if I made the slightest noise, she will immediately rush out of her room... _'I must be careful'_ I thought to myself as I approached the stairs without making too much noise.

Arrived in front of my daughter's room I tried to go all the way on the tip of my talons, it wasn't easy, not only I had to make as little noise as possible and stay in balance, but I had to be careful to not scratch the floor, I would be very pissed if I did it... while I was thinking about it, I managed to go beyond my daughter's room without making any noise, _'My thug years have taught me many trade secrets'_ I thought to myself satisfied with how I was handling the situation until now, I was really satisfied and I thought it was also thanks to the sound of the rain that had certainly helped me, unfortunately due to my excessive happiness, I had made a mistake... by mistake I had come down the stairs without being careful and I had made a creak on the stairs made in lacquered wood.

"Who did it?!" I heard the unmistakable voice of my daughter Jewel.

I literally panicked and hid behind the curtains of the window that faced the entire upstairs corridor, from behind the curtains I could only make out the shape of the stairs in front of me, I had completely covered my body and I remained silent waiting for my daughter to calm herself down and go back to her bed, while I was doing this, I had a moment of reflection. _'Why am I doing all this? I was behaving like I was a thief... but this is my house!'_ I thought to myself, thinking whether or not it was worthwhile to continue this act.

I was interrupted by the sound of a opening door, it was my daughter Jewel who immediately faced the corridor, I saw her cerulean silhouette while she was turning her head several times to understand what could have produced that noise, while she looking for the noise that she had just heard, I remained silent trying to use again the sound of the rain to my advantage.

"Strange... there's nobody here... yet I'm sure that I heard a noise coming from the stairs..." I heard my daughter murmuring to herself as she approached the stairs. Jewel walked past me to go downstairs to make sure that there was no stranger in the house, I stood there for about 2 minutes thinking again if it was worth doing all this just to make a surprise for my family...

I heard a sound of footsteps from the stairs, _'It must be Jewel'_ I thought to myself trying not to move too much, she passed next to me and headed to her room but suddenly there was a flash of lightning that lit up the entire corridor, I saw for a fraction of second my daughter's face with terror in her eyes as she hurried to lock her bedroom door... _'What happened?'_ I thought to myself, confused by what had just happened, _'Was she by chance suddenly frightened by the thunder?'_ I thought to myself as I could finally get out of my hiding place.

After having thought about it for another minute and after having positioned myself in front of the curtain, I had finally understood everything... _'Since I was behind the curtain and consequently behind a window, when there was that flash of lightning, it surely projected a large shadow into the corridor that must have scared my daughter...'_ I thought to myself very worried about my daughter, a sense of guilt assailed me at that moment, _'I hope that she hasn't suffered any trauma because of me...'_ I thought to myself putting a wing on my face as I was very ashamed of my behavior.

I hurried downstairs to get to the kitchen, _'I absolutely have to make up for what i just did and make them forgive me...'_ I thought as I reached the kitchen, I suddenly got a good idea and decided to prepare some mango waffles, the favorite breakfast of daughter and my wife. I began to prepare the mix, in the meantime, I opened the refrigerator to take out 4 mango, I took the first mango and cut it into small cubes and added them together with the mix for the waffle while the others 3 were used only for decoration and later as a side dish.

Once the mix was finished, I reached a shelf where the waffle maker was located, connected it to the plug and waited for about 1 minute to make the it warm, once the led color of the waffle maker changed color, I immediately understood that the surface was hot enough to be able to make the first waffle, thanks to the help of a spoon, I poured the mix on the hot surface and closed the lid of the waffle maker, _'Done, what can I make to drink for my family...'_ I thought between myself looking around the kitchen to get some inspiration, _'For me and my wife I could make some coffee and for my daughter...'_ I thought without having any idea in my head.

 _'An orange juices!'_ I thought as I smiled, I reached the refrigerator again, pulled out some freshly bought oranges, then took out the squeezer and began squeezing the oranges and finishing everything. Without my knowledge, my wife woke up because of a thunder and tried to find comfort looking for me in the bed. As soon as she realized that I wasn't there, she hurried out of bed and looked around the house. While I had finished the waffles and the orange juice, I turned to the stove to make some coffee and I hadn't noticed that someone was coming down the stairs.

"Eduardo? What are you doing at this hour awake and in the kitchen?" A voice asked behind me, I turned to find my wife with a very worried look.

"Sarah ... I couldn't sleep, so I decided to prepare breakfast for the whole family." I said as I cut into wedges the mangoes I had previously held to decorate the waffles.

"I made you your favorite breakfast dish, mango waffle!" I said, turning to my wife holding a plate of mango waffles in my wings.

"Aww thank you honey, you didn't have to do all of this... I'm going to wake up our daughter." My wife said as she admired my creation and gave me a kiss, she soon returned upstairs to wake our daughter. After about ten minutes we were all downstairs to enjoy our breakfast.

"You cannot imagine what happened to me this morning." My daughter said with a scared face while she cut her waffle into smaller pieces with a knife.

"What happened, Jewel?" My wife said stopping to eat to look at our daughter with a worried face.

"First of all I had heard footsteps coming from the stairs but when I was out of my room there was no one, I decided to go downstairs and check if someone was at home but there was nobody... so I was heading back to my room to go back to bed when suddenly there was a flash of lightning and I saw a large shadow that certainly belonged to a bird in front of my eyes... frightened by what I saw, I immediately went to my room and I locked myself in "My daughter said as she rethought what had happened that morning.

"Seriously Jewel? And then what happened? "My wife said more and more intrigued by this surreal story.

"After about ten minutes I went out of my room to check if there was still that shadow but there was nobody... not even behind the curtains..." My daughter said eating a piece of her waffle.

"Now that I think of it, darling, did you see anything? You have woken up early today to prepare the breakfast." My wife asked, turning to me. I couldn't keep it all inside me... _'If I don't tell the truth to both my daughter and my wife, they will have nightmares for the next few days and I would never have forgiven myself for this...'_ I thought to myself immersed in my thoughts.

"Ehm... it was me... I'm so sorry if I acted like a thief... but I wanted to surprise both of you with breakfast ready..." I said closing my eyes and lowering my head so I haven't to see the faces of my daughter and wife.

"I can't believe it! Dad... how could you, I was going to have a heart attack! "My daughter said in a very annoyed tone, _'Luckily I didn't have to see her face...'_ I thought to myself as I tried to find an excuse to justify myself.

"Our daughter is right, don't ever do something like that again." My wife said siding with my daughter.

"I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to do all of this, is just that our daughter is more alert than a guard dog..." I said, opening my eyes and looking at my family.

"Dad, did I hear right? Are you comparing me to a guard dog?!" My daughter said with a surprised face. That said we all three laughed relieving all the fear we had accumulated up to now. I took my coffee between my wings and put a little sugar on it, I felt my wife and daughter giggle suddenly without any reason but ignored them and started drinking my coffee. Immediately a strong salty taste and the bitterness of the coffee spread through all my mouth and tongue... _'I was making very funny grimaces judging by the expressions of my daughter and wife_ ' I thought to myself as I hurriedly looking for something to counter this flavor that I had in that moment in my mouth, I grabbed a bottle of water and quickly began to drink it to remove the taste from my mouth, all this with a big laugh from my wife and daughter.

"Why is my coffee so salty? And why are you both laughing?" I asked, confused and not wanting to believe that they made me a joke like that.

"Dad, you just put some salt in your coffee!" My daughter said, laughing while looking at me with an expression rather than amused...

"You are so clumsy honey, I can see that you haven't recovered from your slight fever that you had last night!" My wife said and then she got up from the chair to come and comfort me.

"Wait a minute... did you know I had a slight fever?" I asked, surprised to know that my wife was already aware of everything.

"Do you think that I never keep an eye on you? I immediately noticed that you weren't feeling very well when we were in bed, I took advantage to touch your forehead without you noticing, also, let's say that I added some aspirin in your glass of water that I brought to you yesterday. " My wife said affectionately putting her wing around my body.

"I know very well that you are very stubborn and that you absolutely didn't want to admit you have a fever." My wife said, whispering in my ears.

"But... you didn't have to do it honey... it's just a slight fever and it would have gone by itself..." I said, struck by my wife's concern.

"I only have one husband, if you feel sick, isn't it my job to help you feel better?" My wife said, laughing.

"Dad, I have to admit that sometimes you are very naive" My daughter said, laughing with my wife.

"You don't know how much I love you honey... I'm really lucky to have you by my side..." I said, moved by the words of my wife.

"I can say the same about you, I couldn't wish for a more loving and caring husband than you," My wife said, kissing me.

I took a long sigh and as I listened to the laughter of my daughter and my wife, their laughter infused my heart with happiness and joy... I would never be tired of hearing them laugh and if they were both happy then I was too... I am more than happy to know that I am able to cheer up their day with these simple gestures and actions.

"Honey, come on, I'll make you some coffee, then you must rest and don't force yourself because you're not completely healed yet." My wife said as she went back to the stove to make me some coffee.

 _'What I did to deserve a woman like her... a woman so thoughtful that she always thought of my good and that helped me bring a wonderful daughter to the world... I'm really lucky'_ I thought to myself, I couldn't wait that my daughter felt the same emotions that I was feeling at that moment, knowing that you are loved... it's an indescribable feeling... _'Blu don't disappoint my daughter, make her happy and always stand by her side' I thought, but it was useless to think that right now, I'm sure he'll keep his promise'_ I thought to myself as I looked at my wife and daughter.

* * *

 **Third Person POV**

Christmas was approaching, it was a matter of days now, thought Blu while he was sitting in the library writing a new chapter of his book. He could hear many voices coming from the outside of the library, near the library there was a toy shop, so he often saw parents popping back and forth with bags full of presents and gift, even the library run by his parents was well decorated. Outside the window there were elements and decorations that recall the Christmas together with the classic Christmas lights, once inside, there was a large Christmas tree, _'Decorated particularly well this year'_ thought Blu while he was giving a quick look from the upstairs of the library. It was now less than a week before Christmas and in a few days the Christmas holidays would finally begin.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

It was snowing at that precise moment, it was the first snowfall of the year, it was useless... every time I saw the snow it was like I was a child again, I would never be tired the snow, I had always liked to throw snowballs and games like that with Rafael and Rebecca, unfortunately growing with age, we had to adapt and consider the snow no longer as a moment of leisure but as the arrival of Christmas holidays and nothing more.

 _'Christmas...'_ I thought to myself looking at the birds passing in front of our library with lots of bags in their wings, it should be a day of celebration but for many birds it is the most stressful festivities of the year, choosing the perfect or right gift was a very difficult thing if not impossible for someone... sometimes the fear of making a undesired gift to the bird we care about, stops us to dare... And this leads us to make banal gifts like T-shirts, pants, gift cards and so on... I never had thought too much about gifts, my parents didn't want nor demanded any gift from me, according to them only the fact that they had me among them was the best thing they could ever wish for...

Many times I think of how lucky I am to be their son... no matter how often their quarrels ended up with a little bit of fight and violence, they really loved each other very much, I don't think I've ever seen any other couple love each other more than my father and mother.

"Honey, have you already decided what we'll do for Christmas?" I heard my mother's voice from upstairs.

"Emh..." I heard the voice of my father, I looked out of the balcony to watch the scene, I saw the doubtful and insecure expression of my father while he was talking to my mother.

"Are you serious? You haven't planned anything for Christmas yet? "My mother said with anger that was building up more and more. In the meantime I could very well hear their conversation from upstairs, it was really strange that my father didn't plan anything for a festivities like Christmas, he was usually a bird who likes to plan things ahead... he wasn't that kind of birds to forget something like that I thought.

"... Dear, it had to be a surprise but I think I cannot hide it anymore..." my father said, looking away.

"What kind of surprise honey?" My mother said, calming down and approaching my father.

"Emh... you see... I organized a Christmas dinner at our house and guess what?" My father said as he looked at my mother, trying to form a forced smile on his face.

"You invited Jewel's family isn't it?" My mother said, smiling and putting a wing on my father's shoulder.

"Yes, since our son has already met the family of Jewel, I thought it was a good idea to invite them to us for a dinner..." My father said, nervously rubbing the feathers behind his neck.

"But it's fantastic honey... our son will be so happy! But you could have warned me in advance though... these days I'm very busy... I don't know if I can go shopping..." My mother said, hugging my father.

"It's my fault... I should've warned you before... I completely forgot it..." My father said with a saddened face.

"Don't worry too much... I can always ask our son to go shopping" My mother said, looking at my father.

"Well, great idea honey, but I'm afraid that he already heard all of it." My father said turning to me upstairs.

"Dad, I heard everything and I really appreciate your effort, don't worry about it, knowing it before or after won't change anything, I would have had the same reaction and then, I sincerely expected a outcome like that after the chat I did with the father of Jewel." I said, smiling at my parents downstairs.

"What did Jewel's father told you?" My mother asked, intrigued by my sentence.

"He confessed to me that he wanted to get to know our family better, it doesn't surprise me that he accepted without thinking too much about coming to us" I said as I went downstairs.

"As I imagined ... honey, we have to do our best to impress the parents of our son's girlfriend." My father said, giggling among himself.

"You're right, dear, we have to do it for our son, he deserves it." My mother said, smiling and putting a wing on my father's shoulder.

"Mom and Dad, don't worry, just be yourself and you'll make a great impression, I'll tell you that because I've seen it from both points of view." I said, turning to my father and mother.

"Dad, you and Eduardo have a lot in common and I'm sure everything will be fine and the same thing goes for Mom and Sarah, you're the best parents I could have ever imagined, I would never change you both, even if i had the chance." I said smiling to both of my parents.

After hearing my words, my father and mother were having serious difficulties in holding back their tears... this was something that I couldn't fully understand, it was something that was fully understood only when I'll become parent, _'I suppose hearing these words from your son was an indescribable feeling'_ I thought to myself as I watched my parents wipe away their tears.

"Oh Blu, we love you too and we... couldn't wish for a better son than you." My mother said with tears of joy in her eyes.

"Exactly honey, Blu know that we are proud to be your parents and you can always count on our help and we will always be ready to help you to the best of our ability." My father said turning away to not show us his tears.

"Dad, mom, don't cry... when I become a father, I hope to be just like you two, you are my ideal model of father and mother." I said, approaching my two parents.

* * *

 **Third Person POV**

Christmas awakened the deepest feelings of the birds, when this time of year came, everyone tried to be the best possible mood so they can spend precious time with their family. After all we spend all year between work, study and so on, doing many sacrifices and leaving in the background one of the things dearest to us, our family. That said the Blue Macaw family joined all together in a long hug, none of them wanted to let the other go, they didn't realize that in the meantime a customer has entered in the library.

"Ehm… I'm really sorry to interrupt such a moving moment but I need to find a book to give as a present for my wife..." Said a Lear Macaw with a very embarrassed expression for having interrupted a moment like that.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I'm coming!" John said, immediately reaching the customer.

"I was looking for a book for my wife... she's very passionate about books and so I thought this was the ideal place to find what I'm looking for" The Lear Macaw said looking around the library.

"Great choice, here you will surely find what you are looking for! Does your wife have any preference? Some favorite genre or author?" John asked the Lear Macaw, showing several shelves full of books.

"My wife is passionate about a certain author... I don't remember his name but it started with the letter T, he is a very young author who was supposedly retired but recently it was known that he'll publish a new book." The Lear Macaw said putting a wing under his chin trying to remember the author's name.

"I think I know who you are referring to, T. Gunderson, am I right?" John said, smiling at the customer.

"Yes, it's him, I met my wife for the first time while I was reading a book by T. Gunderson, from that day onwards, she and I have created a bond that still binds us for 20 years" The Lear Macaw said with a joyful expression, happy to hear that author's name again.

"Well, when it comes to T. Gunderson, I have to call the expert at home, come here Blu!" John said in a very sarcastic tone.

"Here I am Dad, what should I do?" Blu said running in the direction of his father and the customer.

"This customer, he is looking for books of T. Gunderson, no one in the world knows that author better than you!" John said patting his son on the shoulder.

"Ah, I understand... follow me sir!" Blu said, taking the customer to an area of the library.

"How come you are looking for books of T. Gunderson if I can ask you?" Blu asked looking at the customer.

"My wife is a very big fan of T. Gunderson, we met thanks to his book, I was in a bookstore while I was looking for a book, I found a book with a very strange title called _'A Never Dying Hope'_ , it seemed a trivial title, but many times it's the trivial things that surprise you most!" The Lear Macaw said smiling while following Blu.

" _'A Never Dying Hope'_... it's the fourth book of T. Gunderson, a book about two lovers separated by force because of their parents, so they decide to flee on a long journey where they can start their new life together..." Blu said while he stopped in front of a shelf where he could clearly read a label written in gold color _'T. Gunderson '_.

"Did you read that book too? That book has taught me a lot... I'm very grateful to T. Gunderson, are you a big fan of him or something?" The Lear Macaw asked as he searched through the T. Gunderson shelf.

"Well... let's say yes... I and this library are big fans of him, as you can see we have a shelf entirely dedicated to him" Blu said while with his wing he pointed to the shelf in front of him.

"I see... I cannot wait for his new book to come out and to have his autograph... my wife would be so happy..." The Lear Macaw said while holding a book in his wings.

"Is your wife really such a big fan of T. Gunderson?" Blu asked as he carefully watched the expression of the customer in front of him.

"Well, I am a big fan of him too... but not as much as my wife" The customer said while chuckling.

"I see... if you want, I can give you a autographed copy by T. Gunderson" Blu said smiling at the customer.

"WHAT?! Do you have copies of the autographed T. Gunderson's books?" The Lear Macaw said in disbelief at what he had just heard.

"Well you see... our library knows T. Gunderson, but unfortunately I cannot reveal his identity... but since it's almost Christmas, I can get you a copy autographed by him" Blu said taking the book in the wings of the customer.

"So, you would like this book autographed by him?" Blu asked looking at the customer in front of him.

"Yes please... it would be the perfect gift for my wife..." The Lear Macaw said pleading Blu.

"I understand, wait a moment here, I go to the warehouse to find an autographed copy, as you see we don't expose the autographed copies to the public, but for you, I will make an exception, it's almost Christmas after all, we are all nicer, right?" Blu said, smiling at the customer as he walked away to the warehouse.

"I see you managed to get an autographed copy of T. Gunderson" John said smiling at the customer.

"Yes... my wife will be very happy when she comes to know... you had raised a wonderful son... I wish my son was like yours... he never listens to what I say..." The Lear Macaw said with a saddened expression.

"Don't be sad, I'm sure your son has many other talents that my son doesn't have, it is wrong to envy the children of others, the worst thing a parent can do is neglect his own child, stay close to your son and try to understand him better, it's almost Christmas, it's your chance to re-establish the bond that has been broken between you two!" John said smiling at the customer and putting a wing on his shoulder to comfort him.

"Like father, like son... now I understand how you managed to raise a son like him, thanks for the suggestion, immediately after the gift for my wife I will go to look for a gift for my son" The Lear Macaw said smiling at John.

"That's the right spirit, I'm sure you'll understand your son and restore your family" John said as he watched his son Blu, come back to them.

"Here you are, here is a autographed copy of the book by T. Gunderson" Blu said smiling and handing the book in the hands of the customer.

"Thank you so much to both of you... I will certainly come again to see both of you!" The Lear Macaw said, smiling at the two Blue Macaws while he was coming out of the library.

"Great job son, you managed to make one of our customers happy..." John said looking at his son.

"I did my duty as a writer, satisfy my audience... in the end it was just an autograph, it costed me 10 seconds of my life while for him, my autographed book will last forever... he will make his wife happy and as a result he will be in a good mood, I'm sure he will make other bird happy and so creating a chain effect, sometimes with just a simple gesture of generosity, you could make the whole city happy" Blu said smiling to his father.

"You'll be a great father Blu... I'm more than sure..." my father said patting my shoulders.

"I have to admit that Professor Edwards' pat was much stronger than yours" Blu said with a mischievous smile, wanting to tease his father.

"Really? Now I'll show you my strength!" His father said, beginning to chase his son in the library.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?!" Camilla said, giving a look of disappointment to her husband and son.

* * *

Not far from them, in the restaurant "Birds Of Blue Feathers", a very similar discussion was taking place...

"So, John invited us to their home for Christmas dinner?" Sarah said, looking at her husband with a surprised face.

"Yes darling, I accepted without thinking too much because it seemed rude to refuse such a proposal and then... sooner or later we will have to know more about Blu's parents" Eduardo said as he finished washing some vegetables.

"So, we'll all go to Blu's house?" Jewel asked with a surprised face looking at her two parents.

"What a silly question are you asking, of course we'll all go to Blu's house, we won't leave you alone at home!" Eduardo said laughing at his daughter's naivety.

"And Aunt Mimi, does she'll come too?" Jewel asked while arranging some tables.

"Nice question Jewel, your Aunt Mimi told me she already has a dinner party with some of her old friends, so we'll be just the three of us and Blu's family." Eduardo said as he helped his wife move some tables.

"Speaking of Blu, do you already have a gift for him?" Sarah asked, looking at her daughter.

"To be honest, no mom, I have no idea what gift i could give to him." Jewel said with a worried face, not knowing how to surprise her boyfriend.

"Why don't you ask one of his friends, so you can know what he likes best?" His father said, seeing his daughter's expression.

"Great idea honey, try to ask some Blu's friend for some possible gift to give to him." Sarah said looking at her daughter smiling.

"Of course! I can ask Rafael, the best friend of Blu to know what to give him! "Said Jewel, smiling suddenly for the idea she just had.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

Today was the last day of school before the winter holidays, my story is continuing well and I should be able to finish it on time but for now my book wasn't among my priorities. _'I have to find the right gift for Jewel'_ I though between myself while I was heading to the bus stop, it was snowing for a few days already, thanks to yesterday's snowfall, it was very difficult to move and despite I was looking very carefully where I was putting my talon, I still risked many times of falling and hurting myself.

Arrived at the bus stop, I didn't see Rafael anywhere, _'Strange, maybe he had taken the bus before mine...'_ I thought to myself looking around, coming back to my thoughts, what could be the right gift for Jewel? I never had to think so much to choose a gift to a bird... but Jewel wasn't just any bird... she was my sweetheart, the girl who would make my life worth living...

 _'I have to think about something but what... maybe I can ask someone for some advice... maybe Rebecca could help me, definitely a feminine advice from Rebecca would be very useful'_ I thought to myself as a smile formed on my face.

Having said that I prepared to get on the bus and as usual I looked out the window thinking about how my life had changed in a short time, and it's all thanks to a single bird... a more unique bird that rare, able to make me happy in the most difficult moments. Once I got off the bus and got to my classroom, I saw Rebecca talking to Rafael.

"Rebecca, today after school could you help me with something?" I said as I approached my two friends.

"Of course Blu, today I have nothing to do." Rebecca said turning to me and smiling.

"Why only Rebecca and not me too?" Rafael asked disappointed that I had only asked Rebecca for help.

"Sorry Rafael, I need a female opinion and then... it's a surprise for a bird dear to me I don't know if you understand..." I said blushing and nervously rubbing the feathers on my neck with one of my wings.

"Oh, I understand, don't worry Blu, I hope everything goes as you expected." Rafael said, nudging me on my hips and smiling mischievously.

"Thanks Rafael for understanding..." I said trying to defend myself from Rafael's provocations by protecting me with one of my wings. After school, I waited for Rebecca outside the gate, once she reached me, we immediately headed to the main street of the city.

"So Blu, what do you need?" Rebecca said looking at the numerous shops scattered all over the street.

"I need your help because I don't know what gift to do for Jewel..." I said as I looked quickly around me to find some ideas for the gift.

"Ah, now I understand why you needed a female advice... do you already have something in your mind?" Rebecca asked, looking at me.

"I was thinking of giving her a necklace but I don't know which one she would like the most..." I said timidly and blushing.

"Great idea Blu! A necklace is definitely a gift that will surely impress her, so let's not waste time and go to the city's jewelry store." Rebecca said pulling my wing and pointing to a direction. Having said that we had set out on the way to the jewelry store of the city...

* * *

 **Here we are at the end of chapter 6 part 1, the second part should come out on Sunday but I don't know whether to publish it immediately or keep it for later because I don't know when the seventh chapter will come out.**

 **If you want to be updated with the progress of the chapters, you can go to my fanfiction profile where I will occasionally publish updates.**

 **Continue to leave ideas for the story, reading your own idea helps me overcome the writer's block, don't be shy, if you want you can also send me via PM. See you in chapter 6 part 2!**

 **~Fenix139**


	7. A Piece Of My Soul Part 2

**AUTHOR NOTES: Welcome to the seventh chapter of 'A Reason To Live', this is the second part of chapter six, regarding the next chapter... I don't know, I think the timing is now from 1 to 2 weeks, as usual, I will update you on my Fanfiction profile.**

 **I immediately begin to thank RioLover36000 for adding my story to his/her favorites and following one, thanks to all of you, we have reached 1000 views, 9 favorites and 10 follows... thanks a lot to everyone!**

 **This chapter is much shorter than usual because as you know it had to be a single chapter with the previous one, however, I have a surprise for you :) and it is at the end of the chapter, don't rush to find out what it is!**

 **As usual, I thank all those who left a review in the previous chapter, below I will reply again to the Fanfiction guy review.**

 **PS: maybe it would be more convenient if you create an account? So I can answer you privately because I don't know if other people will be bored to see me respond to your reviews xD.**

* * *

 **'** _ **I would advise you that to improve this story even more would be to describe the different environments around the characters ie 'the sun illuminated the living room shining it's rays elegantly against the window.' I would only do this if you have time' : **_**I agree with what you said, adding more details about the environment around them, is a very useful detail, I tried to add more details in this chapter. As soon as chapter 8 or 9 comes out, I assured you that in those chapters will be full of descriptions about the environment around them, you will understand everything once you finish reading the chapter.**

 _ **'Include a scene where Blu (who adores hot chocolate in the Rio franchise)' : **_**Excellent idea, it will surely be present in the next chapter!**

 **Regarding to Blu's gift, don't worry, i have everything already planned!**

 **PS: Don't feel forced to leave ideas for every single review you leave! I'll be happy even if you leave a review telling me 'nice chapter' xD.**

* * *

 **Now I leave you to my seventh chapter of 'A Reason To Live'!**

* * *

-A Piece Of My Soul Part 2

 **Jewel POV**

As soon as I left school, I was desperately looking for Rafael, a thousand thoughts passed through my head, _'If he had already returned home? If he were with Blu?'_ I thought to myself more and more worried, suddenly I saw a toucan with black plumage as he was about to leave the school gate, there was no doubt, it was Blu's friend, once I saw him I immediately rushed to him.

"Rafael! I need your help..." I said running in his direction.

"Jewel? How can I help you?" He replied, surprised to see me still here in front of the school.

"I need help finding a gift for Blu..." I said shyly trying to look at him.

"You don't have to say anything else, I'll gladly help you." He said, nodding and smiling at me.

"Really Rafael?" I said incredulously that he accepted immediately without thinking twice.

"Are you joking? Blu is my best friend I have and if I can make him happy, I'll do it!" Rafael said smiling at me as we walked away from the school.

"I have to say that Blu definitely knows which friends to keep by his side." I said proud of Blu and his eye in choosing which friends to keep close to him. Rafael smiled at me, hearing what I had said, and turned to me.

"So Jewel, do you already have any idea about what gift to give to Blu?" Rafael asked, looking at me.

"To be honest no... but I was thinking that since Blu is a writer, maybe I could give him something that a writer would like but I don't know what..." I said with a very pensive face because I was afraid to give a gift to Blu that he would disliked.

"Excellent idea Jewel! Come on, we can go to a friend of mine who just sells what you're looking for!" Rafael said pulling my wing to hurry up to reach his friend.

After about twenty minutes of walking, we had arrived in front of a shop where in the window were exposed numerous pens, notebooks, pencils etc... they weren't common pens and notebooks but high class one... I don't know how to describe it but they definitely did make an excellent impression to me.

"Hey Max, are you there?" Rafael said as he entered the shop.

The shop was very well assorted, it was full of objects exposed on the walls and through many tables scattered around the shop, it was a very antique shop and had definitely a charm of its own, in addition to what was displayed in the shop window, you could see many fountain pens, rollerball pens, notepads and much more...

"Rafael? Are you really here?" A male voice said from behind a door near the shop counter, from the back door came a Scarlet Macaw of the same age as my parents.

"Max! We didn't see each other for a very long time! Today I came because we need to find a gift to a dear friend of ours" Rafael said, shaking his wing with his friend.

"Oh I understand, I was a writer too, then for reasons of time and more, I stopped." Max said while smiling at Rafael.

"Nice to meet you Max, my name is Jewel and I need an advice on what gift I could give to my boyfriend who is a writer." I said smiling and shaking my wing with him.

"Ah, I understand, are you going to make a refined gift, right?" Max asked me as he pointed out to me some objects that were displayed in a shop window.

"Well... yes, it's the first Christmas we spend together and I'm not going to disappoint him!" I said with a determined face to find the perfect gift for Blu.

"I like your determination, and I have a good idea of what gift you can give to him, follow me!" Max said smiling and pointing with his wing to follow him to an area of his shop.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

We had finally arrived in front of the jewelry shop, we hadn't lost much time watching what was displayed in the shop window and we immediately entered, once inside, we were immediately greeted by an elderly couple of Green Winged Macaw, they immediately presented themselves as Melissa and Richard.

"Welcome, what are you looking for?" Richard said, looking at me and Rebecca smiling.

"Hello, I was looking for a necklace to give as a gift to my girlfriend..." I said shyly trying to stay serious and composed.

"Ah, young love... describe to me how it is this girl so I can help you." Melissa said reaching her husband Richard.

"Is she your girlfriend by chance? You're so cute together... two magnificent sea-blue birds" Richard said smiling and with a wing pointing to Rebecca.

"NO! I'm not his girlfriend!" Rebecca said, definitely irritated and embarrassed by what the couple of Green Winged Macaw had thought.

"Wow, you just got rejected..." Richard said chuckling.

"She's just a friend of mine! that's all, she's here just to help me find the gift!" I said trying to end this awkward conversation.

"I apologize for my husband, describe to me your girlfriend." Melissa said giving a quick look of disappointment at her husband and then turned in my direction.

"Well... she's a Blue Macaw just like me but she has a lighter colored plumage than mine... cerulean color, she has a very slender body with turquoise eyes... she has light gray beak and talon, on her face she has a facial marking that completely surrounds his eyes and beak, this marking tends toward white color, just like mine that i have around my eyes." I said, daydreaming about the beauty of Jewel.

"Wow, I didn't expect such a detailed description... you must be really madly in love with her." Melissa said, surprised by my description of Jewel.

"In all these years you have been the only one who has made such a detailed description, most of the birds focus on the color of the plumage, eyes color etc... but very few have focused on the details, most of the time they are just these little details that make the difference." Richard said, smiling at me.

"I agree with what they said Blu, it's the first time I see this side of you." Rebecca said, teasing me and joining their chorus of praises.

"And out of curiosity, what is the name of this lucky girl?" Melissa asked me as she got up from her chair, moving away from the cash desk.

"Her name is Jewel." I immediately answered her question as I followed her.

"Oh well, she couldn't choose a more appropriate name, she must be really unique and precious to you, right?" Richard said giggling over the coincidence of the name of Jewel.

"Yes... more than unique... I still find it hard to believe that she chose me among all the birds that courted her..." I said while trying to form a forced smile on my face.

"Come on, I'm sure she thinks the same of you as well, otherwise she wouldn't be with you, enough talk, I think I have the right necklace for this young lady." Melissa said, heading towards a shop window.

Once in front of the shop window, Melissa pulled out a couple of keys she had in her pocket and from the shop window she took out a necklace with a blue and white chain with a big heart-shaped sapphire in the middle... _'It's really beautiful... I don't know what to say...'_ I thought to myself admiring the necklace that had momentarily hypnotized me, after admiring it for 10 seconds without saying anything, I remembered why I had brought Rebecca with me.

"Amazing... Rebecca what do you think? Will she like it?" I asked, looking in the direction of Rebecca, who also seemed to be hypnotized by the necklace that Melissa had in her wings.

"I am speechless... of course she will like it! Especially if you're the one giving it to her! "Rebecca said firmly as she looked at me.

"Well said, many times we focus too much on the gift itself when it is the thought that really matters, knowing that a bird dear to you has done so much effort for such a necklace has a completely different meaning!" Richard said reaching his wife Melissa.

"He's right sir... anyway I've decided, I'll take it!" I said, smiling, while I couldn't wait to see the expression of Jewel when she'll see necklace like this at her neck.

"Blu, don't forget to pack the necklace in a gift box!" Rebecca said, pulling my wing slightly to get my attention.

"You're right Rebecca! Excuse me, can you put the necklace in a gift box?" I said as I ran to the counter to warn Richard and Melissa.

"Of course, it will be immediately ready!" Melissa said, pulling out of the gift paper ready to pack the necklace.

* * *

 **Jewel POV**

After following Max inside the shop, I found myself in front of a multitude of pens, one more beautiful than the other.

"These are Mont Blanc pens, you cannot go wrong with these!" Max said, showing me some really nice pens.

I began to look around to find the right pen for Blu when my eyes stopped a specific pen... it was a blue pen with the motifs carved on the cap... it was neither eccentric nor even monotonous... in short, a right mix of elegance and simplicity I thought as i admired it...

"Can I see that pen?" I said, pointing with my wing at the pen I had just spotted.

"Wow great choice, it's a fountain pen Mont Blanc called 'Le Petit Prince' or the little prince." Max said as he took the pen to show it to us more closely.

"Wow Jewel, what an eye... I don't know how long i would be stayed there to spot that pen!" Rafael said, surprised by my choice.

"Thanks but for my little prince this is nothing!" I said, laughing at my own joke.

"I must say that in addition to the beauty of the pen, also the name suits him, right?" Max said smiling while he had laughed with me and Rafael, once finished laughing, I asked if it was possible to put it in a gift box, Max smiled and nodded at me. Once he finished packing the gift, I left the shop with Rafael.

"Thanks Rafael for helping me find this gift!" I said as I held tight to me the bag containing my gift for Blu.

"It's me that I have to thank you, Jewel" He said, smiling at me.

"What do you mean? Why should you thank me?" I said, confused by Rafael's words.

"You managed to make my friend Blu truly happy, before he talked to you, I saw him suffering, he suffered a lot and he kept everything inside him, in a few months you managed to make him reborn... I'm really grateful to you, Jewel, if there's anyone that deserves all that, that's exactly Blu, since the day I met him, he always put the needs of others above his... I've never met a bird more altruist than Blu... keep him tight to you, Jewel! " Rafael said smiling at me and then, he waved me goodbye as he walked away more and more until he disappeared from my ray of vision.

I was speechless, the words of Rafael made me think a lot about Blu, I had always known from the first day that we met, that he was special... but not up to this point... he did nothing but make me happy, knowing that he's a bird even better than I imagined, it did nothing but make me more and more motivated to succeed one day to reciprocate all his affection towards me, although we had already shared our first kiss, I felt that all this was just the beginning...

With these positive thoughts in my head, I headed to the restaurant with a smile on my face, I couldn't wait to see him again, the words of Rafael had done nothing but make me improve and be the best girlfriend for Blu... because as Rafael said, I too thought like him, after all Blu has done a lot for me, all the pain he had kept inside him... not to mention his great secret... i'm going to treat him better because... he deserves it...

Arrived at the restaurant, I was assailed by the questions of my father and mother about what gift I had chosen for Blu but I remained strong and determined to keep the secret, eventually they gave up and left me alone knowing that I was serious in that moment and that they wouldn't get any clue from me.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

I was really happy with my gift, once I got out of the shop with Rebecca, I thanked her for accompanying me on this mini-adventure, having done that, I set out on my way towards my home, on my way I arrived at the town square where a big Christmas tree was exposed, _'This year tree it's even bigger than last year one...'_ I thought to myself admiring that big Christmas tree decorated very abundantly.

When I got home, I was harassed by the questions by mother and father, they asked me about what I had bought for her... once I had finished dinner and once they gave up, I went back to my room to sleep. _'I cannot wait for Christmas to come...'_ I thought, and I cannot wait to see her face when I show her my present... and with that last thought I collapsed in my bed towards the world of dreams...

* * *

The day finally arrived... December 24... Christmas Eve, one of the most awaited days by all the birds in the world, the day when many children's dreams come true and a moment to see all the birds dearest to us.

With these words on my head I got up from my bed more motivated than ever, I looked out the window of my house to watch the snow that continued to fall over the city, you couldn't see many birds on the street, _'It's like that because most of the birds are at home celebrating with their family'_ I thought as I was admiring the snowy landscape of the city. Once I left my room, I headed to the bathroom and after twenty minutes I was ready for this new day, I went downstairs to reach my parents.

"You finally woke up! Sleepyhead." My mother said with a sarcastic tone.

"I see that you took everything from your mother, son." My father said, not thinking about the consequences of what he just said. I immediately noticed the face of my mother who was a happy bird a second ago, she had turned into that angry and blood-thirsty one...

Once I saw this, I tried to get my father's attention and make him think again, but since he was too focused on his newspaper he ignored me... realizing that this situation could end very badly, I ran ahead of my mother to stop her and attract my father's attention.

"Mom, stop! not today!" I said, trying to calm my mother's wrath.

"Not today what?" Said my father turning to me and mother, as soon as my father's eyes met those of my mother's, he immediately understood what was happening.

"Son, get out of my way, I must teach some good manners to your father!" Said my mother, waving her wings, trying to reach my father.

"Mom... as I already said, not today! Don't you remember that today we have the family of Jewel as our guests?" I desperately said, trying to make my mother think again. Once she heard this, my mother calmed down and gave my father a mean look.

"I'm sorry dear if I offended you, I didn't do it on purpose..." My father said trying to defend himself.

"For today I'll close one eye." My mother said going back to the stove.

Finally, it all ended well I thought as I was putting myself in my place eating my breakfast, _'As usual my father and mother will never change'_ I thought to myself chuckling, they are in a sense very similar to me and Jewel, two personalities completely opposite to each other... but an indestructible bond that has united them for about twenty years.

"Ah Blu, could you go shopping? I made you a list of what you have to buy for tonight dinner, if you want you can ask Jewel to accompany you" My mother said, pointing with her wing in the direction of the shopping list.

"Why did you give me so little notice, couldn't you tell me earlier? Mom?" I asked, surprised to have to do the shopping during Christmas Eve.

"Because of someone, I had to organize everything at the last second." My mother said looking in the direction of my father, I saw my father look up and after not even 3 seconds, he understood everything and with a quick gesture of his wings, he lifted the newspaper in front of his eyes pretending to had seen nothing.

"It's useless to pretend you didn't see anything, sweetheart, I know you've heard our conversation" My mother said, smiling at the awkward gesture of my father.

"I already said that I'm sorry to have warned you on such short notice..." My father said, lowering the newspaper and looking at us with a sorry look.

"Okay, just stop blaming each other, since I have to do the shopping on Christmas Eve, I absolutely have to hurry up!" I said as I was hurrying to finish breakfast, then take the shopping list and the money on the table. I tried to reach Jewel's house as soon as possible, during the month of December, sometimes I had accompanied Jewel to her house, so I remembered the way to reach her house.

Once arrived in front of her house, I had opened the door and was immediately welcomed by her father who made me sit inside their house, Jewel's house was full of photos of her family, in every corner you could see different stages of her life, since she was still a newborn, when she graduated from middle school etc... talking about Jewel, I hadn't seen her yet... for now I saw only her mother and her father.

"Excuse me, but where is Jewel? I should be shopping for tonight dinner and I wanted to ask if she was willing to come with me or not. "I said, turning to her two parents.

"I think she's still upstairs, why you don't go to see her?" Her mother said, smiling at me and pointing to the stairs with her wing.

I nodded and began to climb the stairs, when I found myself in front of her room, I open the door and I found myself in a room that was really in order, it was full of color and personality... the exact opposite of mine that was really too simple compared to this one. I didn't see Jewel anywhere and began to wonder where she could be...

"Blu? What are you doing in my room?" A female voice said behind me, as soon as I heard that voice I suddenly turned around.

"Jewel... um I was admiring your room nothing more... I haven't touched anything, I swear!" I nervously said, gesticulating with my wings, Jewel at that moment laughed and gave me a kiss on the cheek making me blush madly.

"I like you too much when you show the nervous and insecure side of yourself." She told me softly whispering in my ears.

"Hehe... I'm happy that you like me as I am..." I timidly said, looking away.

"Why are you here? I thought we had to come to your house?" She said surprised to see me in her room.

"Ah... you see Jewel... I have to go shopping for tonight dinner... and I was wondering if..." I said shyly trying to finish my sentence.

"Do you want to ask me to go shopping together?" She told me, smiling at me.

"Yes... if you're busy then it's not a problem!" I said not wanting to force her against her will to go shopping.

"My silly blue bird, if I can spend time with you, I would be willing to follow you everywhere the world!" She said hugging me.

"I suppose I'm the luckiest bird in the world to have you by my side..." I said, returning the hug.

" 'We', remember it, love is something that should be shared by both lovers, it is a feeling that must be reciprocated to be fully appreciated..." She said with affectionate tone.

"Hehe... you're stealing all my sentences from my books, you could very well replace me as T. Gunderson." I giggled.

"Come on, let's move on because if not, all the shops will close and we won't be able to go to shopping for tonight dinner!" She said pulling my wing. _'For you, I would follow you everywhere in the world...'_ I thought to myself getting dragged by Jewel. After about twenty minutes, we were in front of the supermarket, I saw Jewel with a surprised face as soon as she understood where we were going.

"What's wrong Jewel? Why that surprised face?" I asked, looking at her.

"No, it's nothing, it's just that I thought we were going to the market..." She smiled and followed me inside the supermarket entrance.

"Ah, I understand... I don't know if you believe me, I've never done the shopping at the market... I prefer the quieter environment of the supermarket, I don't know if you understand me..." I said while I looked around and pushed the shopping cart.

"Are you afraid of interacting with strangers?" She said, putting herself in front of the cart.

"Well... it's not fear... but it's just that I'm a reserved bird and I need my time before opening up to someone..." I said, looking at her face.

"Don't worry Blu, with me by your side, I will help you overcome this obstacle, come on, we must take vegetables!" She said as she ran to the fruit and vegetable department. _'Always so joyful and positive towards life... really a wonderful girl...'_ I thought to myself following her.

"Let's see... I need 3 carrots and some onions..." I said while with my wing I grabbed the vegetables that were in front of me.

"No Blu, you can't take the first things in front of you, you have to choose carefully the best one!" She said pulling some carrots and onions out of the bottom.

"Here, these are perfect!" She said smiling at me and putting them in the shopping cart.

"Sooner or later you have to teach me these secrets of the trade!" I said, laughing as I watched her pick the best vegetables available.

"It's all a matter of practice, next time we'll go to the market and I'll show you how to choose the best fruit and vegetables available!" She smiled at me as she held my wing affectionately.

The shopping has continued very well, sharing some moments like that with Jewel gives me a strange feeling, even if we've only recently met... it seemed to me that, we know each other for a lifetime... _'We behaved exactly like we were a married couple...'_ I thought to myself as I followed Jewel to the various supermarket departments.

Once I paid everything and returned home, I immediately saw my father and Jewel's father on the sofa watching a football match, _'I knew they had many things in common with each other'_ I thought as I closed the door of the house and set shopping bag in the kitchen. As soon as the door closed, I drew the attention of all those who were at that moment in my house, after having greeted warmly by our two family, I hurried to arrange the shopping bag and lend a hand to my mother in the kitchen, although I had no cooking experience, I had always carefully observed all the movements of my mother did and then I always liked to help the other birds...

* * *

 **Jewel POV**

I saw Blu moving fast in the kitchen helping her mother with the preparations of different dishes, _'He is really a versatile bird'_ I thought to myself, the only defect that had was his shyness, _'I don't think it's right to call it a defect, after all, it's also thanks to his shyness to make him the responsible bird that he is right now'_ I thought to myself smiling as I watched him help his mother, after a short time, even my mother joined them, _'Surely she'll be bored to watch the game with the boys'_ I thought to myself chuckling.

I looked around and decided to explore a little his house, it was the first time I was at the house of Blu, all this was new to me, I went upstairs and I found myself in front of many photos and portraits of his family, _'How cute was Blu when he was little'_ I thought to myself chuckling as I looked at a picture of Blu as a baby, while I admired his family photos, something caught my attention, a room with the door open, curiosity got the better of me and I headed to that room.

It was a very simple room, full of books, paper sheets etc... it was undoubtedly a room of a writer, there was no doubt... what caught my attention was a ring binder called _'Deleted Chapters'_ and a guitar placed in a corner of the room. _'I didn't know that Blu played the guitar...'_ I thought to myself as I touched Blu's guitar, immediately after that, I headed for the ring binder, I began to leaf through it and understood what it was, _'It's that famous collection of alternative scenes, chapter and endings that Blu had spoken to me...'_ I thought to myself, beginning to browse all the pages as I read it. I lost the perception of the time and soon Blu came looking for me because he couldn't find me anywhere.

"Here you are Jewel... I see you have discovered my secret ring binder..." He said smiling and sitting next to me.

"Sorry if I didn't ask you for permission... but it was stronger than me, why did you discard all these scenes? Some scenes are literally beautiful..." I said, ashamed of my rudeness.

"You don't have to apologize, curiosity isn't a bad thing, curiosity helps us to move forward more and more, to discover and learn new things, in my modest and humble opinion, curiosity leads us to the progress of both ourselves and society, without curiosity, we don't go anywhere" He said smiling at me.

"Regarding why I discarded those scenes... it's a personal choice... I didn't like them anymore and so I decided to modify them or completely discard them" He said as he got up from the bed we were sitting on.

"Come on, follow me Jewel, our family dinner is about to begin! If we don't immediately go downstairs and reach our parents, who knows what they'll start thinking of us two alone in my room. " He said giggling and stretching his wing to help me get out of bed.

At that comment I blushed uncontrollably and Blu noticed me, he smiled at me and stroked my face and then took my wing and guided me downstairs. I saw my father discussing sports with Blu's father while they were setting the table, my mother was helping the Blu's mother to bring dishes from the kitchen, _'It's the first time I celebrated Christmas this way'_ I thought to myself while I was watching this scene.

Soon dinner time arrived and we were all 6 seated on the table ready for Christmas dinner, there were at least twenty dishes and many of which I didn't even know... _'Blu's parents definitely had some aces up their sleeve'_ I thought to myself as I admired some dishes.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

The dinner went on very well, I clearly saw my father and my mother get along very well with the Jewel's parents as if they were old friends who hadn't seen each other for years...

"So, Blu? Did you have fun tonight?" Jewel asked, smiling at me.

"Certainly Jewel, how can I didn't have fun with you at my side." I said without noticing the confidence with which I said it.

"Wow I didn't expect these words from my shy and clumsy boy." She said seductively.

"Um... I don't even know how I did it... I think it's because I'm currently standing next to you and you gave me the courage that i needed..." I said as I rubbed the feathers on my neck.

"Ok, I think it's time for the presents, right Jewel?" Jewel's father said, smiling at his daughter.

"Of course Dad, Blu wait for a moment and I'll be right back to you!" Jewel said moving away from the table and then returning with a gift in her wings.

"This is for you Blu." She said putting the gift she had between her wings on the table.

"But... Jewel, you didn't have to..." I said humbly while looking at my gift, she at that precise moment silenced me and with the tip of the wings closed my beak.

"You deserve it, no one had ever made me so happy in my life Blu..." She said giving me a very sincere smile, moved by the words of Jewel, I took the gift between my wings and began to unwrap it, once finished unwrapping it, I noticed a familiar logo... it wasn't a common logo but the Mont Blanc logo... a famous brand of luxury pens...

"But... Jewel this must have cost you a lot... you didn't have to get so far..." I said incredulous of what my eyes saw...

"Enough talk Blu and open your gift." She said urging me to continue, I listened to Jewel and opened the box... what I found inside was a beautiful blue fountain pen with some incisions on the cap... it was really beautiful... I had never seen a pen like this, its finishes were treated in detail, it was immediately clear to me that this wasn't a common fountain pen...

"Jewel but... it's beautiful... thank you very much for the gift." I said as I continued to admire the pen.

"I'm glad you like that pen... it's called 'Le Petit Prince' or little prince and it perfectly reflects what you are for me." She said affectionately putting a wing on my shoulder, touched by her words I hugged her very strongly with the amazement of both families and I decided it was time to show her my gift. I putted the pen in its place and took out a box behind my chair and handed it to Jewel.

"Thank you so much for the gift, Jewel, I can't do anything but give you my gift..." I said, handing my present between Jewel's wings.

"Blu... but you didn't have to..." She said using exactly my own words.

"No, just like you said, stop talking and open that box." I said, inciting her as she had unwrapped the present, Jewel followed what I had told her and began to unwrap the box and once she had finished, she opened it and inside she found a necklace with a blue and white chain, with a large heart-shaped sapphire set in the middle of it. Both families were speechless and even Jewel, she couldn't hold back her tears but still managed to reply to me.

"Blu... it's beautiful... my gift is nothing compared to yours..." She said with the tears coming down from her turquoise eyes.

"Don't say nonsense Jewel, I really appreciated your gift, you could also give me a sock and I would have appreciated it the same way, only the thought that this gift has come from you... it's enough for me and now, let me put you the necklace..." I said stretching my wings and grabbing the necklace, I approached her neck and put it on her, Jewel couldn't hold back her tears in spite of the fact I had given some tissues.

"Jewel... it's not over yet... I have a last present for you, I think you've already figured it out when you were in my room" I said, getting up from the chair and going upstairs.

* * *

 **Jewel POV**

"It's a really beautiful necklace, Jewel... you're really lucky to have someone like him by your side" My mother said approaching me.

"My son has exceeded all my expectations, I certainly didn't expect such a gift..." Blu's father said admiring my necklace.

"I wonder what gift he has yet to show..." My father said looking at the stairs leading upstairs. I suddenly heard a guitar sound coming from upstairs, after a few seconds I saw Blu coming downstairs with his guitar between his wings.

"Jewel ... I left my guitar to start writing the books dedicated to you, but after 5 long years I finally realized that I wasn't forced to give up this hobby, so tonight I'll dedicate you a song..." He said closing his eyes as he sat on a step of the stairs.

* * *

 **(AN: Needless to say, I recommend you to listen this song for this part, many of you have already heard it in the last chapter but I find that it fit really well even in this one. Also, I found that it isn't allowed to post the lyrics of the songs in a Fanfiction story... so I had to delete it from the chapter, if you aren't going to listen to it, I ask you to at least to read the lyrics of the song.)**

James Arthur - Say You Won't Let Go -

* * *

 **Blu POV**

Once I had finished singing, I opened my eyes again and found myself in an unexpected scene, I saw my mother in the wings of my father while he wiped her tears, Jewel's father and mother were smiling at me but... I didn't see Jewel, I looked around but I can't find her...

I got up from the stairs but someone grabbed me and made my head spin, I got carried away and soon I found Jewel in front of me, her eyes were shining more than ever... I couldn't form any words and I remained silent...

"The song you just sang... do you really mean what you just said? Do you want to stay with me until the end?" She said softly as she looked at me.

"I'm more than certain of my choice, I know very well that I'm running too ahead, we've known each other for less than a year... but every time I'm close to you, I feel like I've known you for a lifetime... we didn't meet as the beginning of the lyric but the rest... reflects perfectly what I'm going to do for you..." I said while I put aside my guitar when suddenly she kissed me... _'Our second kiss...'_ I thought to myself shocked... I couldn't be happier than that... I let myself get carried away from the moment, isolating myself momentarily from this world and closing once again my eyes.

Our kiss had impressed both of our families, my father and mother hugged themselves and so did the parents of Jewel... After 10 seconds of intense kiss we parted, we were both incredulous of what had happened, but despite this, I took strength and courage and I said.

"Jewel... I couldn't wish for a better gift than this... thank you for always being by my side... I'm happy to say that you managed to snatch the second kiss of my life." I chuckled to dampen the embarrassing situation that had arisen.

"The same thing for me, Blu... you were the first and certainly the only guy I would kiss in all my life, after you, no one else... thanks for being with me... to always be by my side... thanks to exist, Blu..." She said, resting her head on my chest. That said, a chorus of applause started from both families, I couldn't be happier than that... _'Who knows what the future holds for us?'_ I thought.

"I have no words to describe what has just happened... I have to admit that you have a beautiful voice Blu, I am happy that you both have the same feelings for each other, I also have something to announce to both of you." Eduardo said while he wiped his wife's tears. Upon hearing this, Jewel and I turned to face mine and her parents, listening carefully to them.

"What do you want to tell us dad?" Jewel asked, raising her head from my chest.

"We have chosen the gift for both of you and this gift comes from four of us... we booked a holiday in the mountains at the beginning of January just us seven, five days at the hotel, unfortunately there was only one single room left and we decided to leave it to my sister Mimi, this means that you will have a double room like me and the parents of Blu... I recommend behave well and don't do any silly stuff that you would later regret!" The father of Jewel said chuckling with his wife.

Once we hear that, we both blushed, another group laugh started... just when I thought things couldn't get any better than that, life would always surprise you...

"Dad, what do you mean by the phrase 'don't do any silly stuff?' huh? Don't you think I'm a responsible girl and capable of making my own choices?" Jewel said, irritated by the lack of trust her father had in her.

"You know very well what I mean, Jewel, especially after what happened tonight." Her father said, firmly convinced about what he had just said.

"Come on honey, stop! You're embarrassing everyone..." Jewel's mother said trying to silence her husband with one of her wings.

 _'Holiday in the mountains huh? I haven't been snowboarding for a few years, I should still be good at it...'_ I thought to myself as I sat on the couch watching the conversation of our two families, _'A double room with Jewel?'_ I thought to myself blushing more and more... I looked out of the window seeing many snowflakes covering the whole city, I could very well see many lights coming from different houses illuminating that dark night of Christmas Eve, _'They seems like thousands of fireflies that illuminated a hot summer night'_ I thought to myself looking at this view from the window. _'This was undoubtedly the most beautiful Christmas of my life... I cannot wait for what the future still holds for us...'_ I thought while I turned myself to look at my new big family...

* * *

 **Here we are at the end of the chapter, you are wondering what a surprise I have for you? Well you see... Friday as I was coming home from work, I had a new idea for my new story, for now it is under work and therefore it isn't official yet, however, I will give you a little sneak peak of the first chapter, let me know in the reviews what you think of this my new story!**

 **As a provisional title, I chosen 'Another Chance'. For the most awake of you, maybe you will already understand what this story will be about, maybe I will publish the first chapter next week but I have to see if the plot and everything else make sense, it will be a story almost full of drama, loneliness and suffering, in short, almost the exact opposite of this story xD.**

* * *

Year 2030... many years had passed since I arrived in the Amazon forest... I had really struggled to get used to the wild life, because since I was little, I had been raised in captivity... but I didn't regret my life... I didn't care if I had spent 15 years of my life in captivity and far from my kind... if all of this hadn't happened, now I wouldn't be here with the woman of my life, Jewel.

We have spent together so many adventures... we suffered and rejoiced... we lived our lives as best we could... but everything has an end... the more years passed, the more I was saddened... death... the most feared thing by all living beings... what was there after death? What was the purpose of our life? Reproduce and continue the species? Was this really our purpose in our life?

I must admit that I didn't have a very easy life... the first 15 years of my life I had literally lived in luxury... I didn't have to worry about anything, I had a cozy house, I had food at will, I had the best owner I could ever wish for... but I was missing something... something that I had always missed... something I never had the chance to have...

* * *

 **You can understand a lot of the plot already from these few lines, I give you some clues, year 2030, Blu will be 34, and since the life expectancy of a Spix Macaw hovers between 20 and 30 years... understood everything, right?**

 **Tell me what you think, these days I will think about how to develop this plot of my new story, I won't post two stories at once, first I will finish this story and then I will start the other but I think I'm going to publish at least the first chapter, just to see your interest in my new story.**

 **It would be all much easier if I could write my stories directly in English... I remind to you all that it is only a test of the first chapter, it can be so or completely different!**

 **With this I wave you goodbye and I hope to see you all in my next chapter!**

 **~Fenix139**


	8. A New Start

**AUTHOR NOTES: Welcome to my eighth chapter of 'A Reason To Live', did I miss you? I am very sorry for not being able to publish this chapter in time, unfortunately for those who look at my Fanfiction profile, you already know that for 3 or 4 days I couldn't write anything, I had no choice but to take a break. This is the first time that I experience such a writer's block.**

 **I must admit that the break has definitely helped me to overcome the writer's block and consequently, to be able to finish this chapter, but I think that you haven't noticed my absence, as you can finally see, there is much more activity in the community of RIO, this does nothing but please me as one of the main reasons why I started writing was because during the period of May, there were less than 5 active writers.**

 **Returning to something more important, I told you in the previous chapter that I was going to publish at least the first chapter of my new story (12k of words currently), well, I have to admit that I have reflected well on publishing it or not, having to write two stories simultaneously It is absolutely out of my reach, especially now that I work full time, so I decided to suspend it for now, also because every day I find some new idea to add and so on.**

 **As usual, if you want to be updated on the progress of the chapters, I invite you all to take a look at my profile where I will update daily the status and any progress of the translation, also I really want to thank you for all the reviews you left me in the previous chapter. Now I'll leave you as usual to my eighth chapter of 'A Reason To Live'.**

 **PS: Don't think that I didn't read your review** **Fanfiction guy** **, it's just that I'm taking a break from making pointless answer (in my opinion) for your idea lol, if you read this whole chapter, you'll see lots of your idea inside of it.**

* * *

-A New Start

 **Blu POV**

Once I returned to the table with my family, I had sat on my chair watching my parents chat with Jewel's parents, I knew that they would get along but not up to this point, since I was thirsty, I had thought that there was nothing better than a cup of hot chocolate during the night of Christmas Eve, so I got up from my chair and headed to the kitchen.

I pulled out some cocoa powder form a shelf not far from me and putted a pot of water on the stove to heat it, while I was doing that, I took out a cup and putted 6 marshmallows inside it, _'The perfect marshmallow to cocoa ratio'_ I thought to myself smiling.

"What are you doing Blu?" A voice said from behind me, interrupting my thoughts. "What are you preparing?" The voice said again, I turned myself and saw Jewel in front of me with a curious look as she tried to peek at what I was doing.

"Oh Jewel, I'm making some hot chocolate, do you want some?" I asked, smiling at her as I showed her the cocoa powder package.

"Hot chocolate... I don't know if you'll believe me but I've never tried it... I tried chocolate but never hot chocolate." Jewel said a little ashamed as she was trying to look as natural as possible.

"Then you have to try it! It is absolutely my favorite hot drink!" I said as I doubled the amount of water to make two cups of hot chocolate.

"Thanks you Blu... let me help you!" She said as she helped me to hold the pot steady while I was adding more water.

"You didn't have to help me, Jewel, I can do it by myself!" I said, giggling as she helped me with the preparation.

"I have nothing to do, so I offered to help you and then..." She said approaching me.

"Ehm... then what?!" I said slightly frightened by the sudden change in Jewel's behavior.

"You're so naive Blu... after that song that you dedicated to me, you still thought I could stay there and look at you without giving you a hand (wing)?" She said giggling as she leaned her head on my shoulder.

"You're right, sometimes I'm extremely naive... but enough talk, the water is boiling!" I said, immediately turning off the stove flame. "Jewel, do you want some marshmallows in your hot chocolate?" I asked as I turned to face her.

"Marshmallows with hot chocolate? Is this a combination that you've created?" She asked with an intrigued look at my unusual hot chocolate recipe.

"Well, I didn't create the recipe but I discovered one thing, the perfect marshmallow to cocoa ratio!" I said before pouring hot water into my cup, then I added some cocoa powder inside it and started to mix it well. "Done, do you want to take the first sip?" I said, handing the cup to Jewel.

"No thanks... you can take the first sip." She said with a clearly suspicious look.

"It's not poisoned... but it doesn't matter, I can understand that it's your first time and you still don't know what you're missing." I said taking a big sip of my hot chocolate cup.

As soon as the hot chocolate came down from my throat, a strong impulse of pleasure pervaded my whole body, the warmth of the hot chocolate was able to warm my soul, _'Every time I drank the hot chocolate, it always happen the same thing'_ I thought to myself while sipping my cup, it was a feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment, it was so strong that I had to close my eyes to resist it's power, after swallowing and keeping control of my body, I took a long sigh satisfied of what I had just drank.

Once I opened my eyes, I found Jewel in front of me with a surprised face, she was struck by my reaction in drinking hot chocolate and she was left open-mouthed (beak), _'Surely I managed to tease her curiosity'_ I thought to myself as I couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction.

"Do you want to try it yourself too?" I asked, smiling mischievously, wanting to tease her as much as possible.

"From your reaction... I suppose it tasted extremely good..." She said, staring at the chocolate and marshmallow mixture in my cup.

"It's like the nectar of the Olympian Gods, once you've tried it, you cannot live without it! Wait a moment that I'll prepare another cup for you." I giggled as I turned to the stove and pulled out another cup ready to fill it with hot chocolate, I heard a slurping sound from behind me, I turned and saw Jewel with her beak covered with hot chocolate while with one of her wings, she held my cup of chocolate that was now completely empty.

"Ehm... what happened to you, Jewel? Why your beak is covered with chocolate? And why is my cup empty?" I asked, confused by what my eyes were seeing as I quickly looked at Jewel and then immediately my gaze fell towards my now empty cup...

"I couldn't help myself... you had an expression too satisfied to not drink it." Jewel said with a fulfilled face as she was licking her beak.

"But... did you just drink it from my cup?!" I said blushing uncontrollably at the thought that I and Jewel drank from the same cup.

"Well yes, is there any problem? We are no longer strangers, we are engaged, I can't see anything wrong with what I've just done." She said, slightly tilting her head and giving me a confused look.

"You're right... I see that you liked the hot chocolate, wait a moment that I'll prepare another for you" I said smiling and turning back to the stove.

"You were right when you said that you had found the perfect ratio of cocoa to marshmallow, I should propose this hot chocolate to my father and mother as a drink or dessert for our restaurant!" She said happily as I was still facing my back to her while I was making a new cup of hot chocolate.

"What are you talking about, Jewel?" I heard the voice of Jewel's mother behind me.

"Blu has a great recipe for hot chocolate that I think it fits perfectly with our current menu at our restaurant!" I heard Jewel say as she approached me.

Once I had finished preparing the cup, I turned and handed the cup to Jewel and she handed it to her mom, I saw Jewel's mother looking carefully at my cup of hot chocolate studying it, after 5 seconds of careful analysis, she took a sip and I saw her pupils dilate, she suddenly turned and immediately rushed to her husband.

"You see John... I think this year the Chicag-" Eduardo said unable to finish his sentence because of his wife had suddenly come out from behind him and forcibly opened his beak and poured the hot chocolate into his mouth without give him any notice.

I saw Eduardo's face turning red as he desperately tried to free himself from his wife's grip, Eduardo was at that moment waving his wings, trying to ward off his wife, once he had succeeded, he used his wing as a fan for some strange reason until he said...

"IT BURNS!" Jewel's father screamed as he tried desperately to cool down his tongue with that rudimentary and very amusing method.

"SARAH, WHY DID YOU DO THAT?" Jewel's father said in a very irritated tone because of his wife's behavior.

"I wanted you to try Blu's hot chocolate, that's why" She said giggling as she looked at her husband with an innocent look. Eduardo putted his wing over his face, shaking his head several times in disapproval.

"How will I survive another 40 years with this woman..." He said in a low voice.

"Did you say something?" Her wife asked him as she was approaching him.

"No, I didn't say anything, honey" Her husband said very quickly without any single hint of doubts.

"So, tell me how it was, did you like the hot chocolate?" Jewel's mother asked as she waited impatiently for her husband's response.

"I have to taste it again, because of someone's fault and her reckless action, now I have a first-degree burn on my tongue!" Jewel's father said, giving a annoyed look to his wife.

"Aren't you doing it on purpose to be able to drink more?" His wife asked him with a mischievous smile as she carefully watched her husband.

"Sarah, do I look like to you the kind of bird so desperate that I don't have the courage to ask for another sip of hot chocolate? If you want my opinion about Blu's hot chocolate, then I have to take another sip." Jewel's father said as he stretched his wing claiming the hot chocolate cup that was currently present in his wife's wings.

"Just a small sip, promise me!" Jewel's mother said, having a little fear of leaving that cup of hot chocolate in her husband's wings.

"Sarah... I've never seen you behave like that... what happened to you? Give me that cup so I can tell you my opinion!" Jewel's father said unnerved by his wife's behavior, he stretched his wing and tore the cup from his wife's wings and took a big sip.

"Hey, I told you to took only a small sip!" Jewel's mother said trying to get her hot chocolate cup back from her husband's wings.

"Mom and Dad... you both are behaving like kids... you two are adults and you must be an example for us..." Jewel said disappointed by the behavior of her two parents.

"Look who's talking, the same girl who finished my hot chocolate cup without even asking me..." I said in a low voice thinking that she didn't hear me.

"What did you just said?" She said, turning to me and giving me an angry look.

"Ehm... Jewel, I was only joking..." I nervously said, rubbing the feathers on my neck trying to calm her anger.

"So, what do you think about Blu's hot chocolate?" Jewel's mother asked, looking at her husband.

"It's very good... but I think I can improve it further!" Jewel's father said as he looked at the contents of my cup.

"Of course that you can improve it! For the time being I only used cocoa powder and a pack of marshmallows bought from the supermarket, with good quality ingredients, I cannot even imagine what levels it can reach." I said as I looked at Jewel's father.

"I see... Blu, do you mind if I borrow your recipe for our restaurant? I was thinking of opening a bar section to be able to have customers even after meals." Jewel's father said looking in my direction.

"Of course, go ahead and use it as you wish" I said, smiling at him.

"Going back to more serious things, did you organize something for the New Year dinner?" Eduardo said smiling as he looked at my mother and father.

"No... we thought we'd go to some restaurant and celebrate it there." My father said pulling out his smartphone to check the calendar.

"Then you must absolutely come to us!" Eduardo said joyfully.

"We would like to... but we don't want to be a burden..." My father said as he looked at my mother to see if she agreed or not.

"Don't talk nonsense John, your family will come to us at our restaurant to celebrate New Year's Eve." Eduardo said patting my father's shoulder and pulling him towards him as if they were old friends.

"Honey, you may be right about us being a burden, but we have no choice... you've seen how much our son and Jewel love each other, and then Eduardo won't accept any excuse." My mother said, whispering to my father.

"Okay Eduardo, but I promise you that we'll repay your hospitality sooner or later!" My father said, giggling as he returned Eduardo's pat.

"Then it's done! Don't worry John you don't have to repay me anything, I'm really grateful that your son made my daughter so happy... I didn't see her so happy for a very long time... you're both a really responsible parent for raising a son like him." Eduardo said looking in the direction of me and Jewel.

"Oh Eduardo, enough with the praise, you have done a good job with your daughter too." My mother said, smiling as she joined with my father.

"We'll be together for New Year's Eve..." I said, turning to Jewel.

"Aren't you happy? Don't you like spending time with me?" She said, smiling mischievously as she held my wing tightly.

"Of course I'm happy to be with my girlfriend... do you have any doubt about me?" I said, deciding to play along with her.

"Ah, so that's how you want to play, will you be brave enough and determined to resist from my temptations?" She said as she approached closer and closer to me.

"Um... Jewel... okay you won..." I said, moving away from her before something bad happened.

"Do you have something planned for the next few days? What do you say if we go skating?" She smiled at me as she showed me an ice rink from her smartphone not far from us.

"Mmh... I'm always free during Christmas holidays, but I've never skated in my life..." I said unsure if I wanted to go skating or not.

"Don't worry, I'll teach you how to skate!" She said, smiling and holding my wing tightly.

"Are you willing to teach me how to skate?" I asked, surprised by her offer.

"Of course my silly blue bird, I will help you at skating and you will see that in less than a day you will be able to skate!" She said smiling at me while resting her head on my shoulder.

"Well... if you are willing to teach me... I don't see why not, I will come with you to skate then!" I said as I wrapped her around with my wing and held her closer to me, I saw her smiling at me as she let herself be hugged.

"All right, tomorrow we'll met in front of the address that I showed you before!" She said with an enthusiastic face as she slightly raised her head.

Needless to say, that evening was unforgettable, not only for having had the opportunity to spend it together with the girl I love and her family, not only for that wonderful pen that she gave me or for our surprise holiday, but for our second kiss she gave me...

That was an indescribable feeling, something that I never thought I could try so soon, although we had already kissed, that was and will possibly always remain something that I thought impossible especially with her... and instead it happened again... even in front of her parents... to tell the truth, I didn't mind at all that our kiss was in front of them... at least we won't have to hide anything from them now on.

* * *

The next day, I woke up early and I was in a good mood, I couldn't wait to spend the day with Jewel, I quickly ate breakfast and then waved goodbye to my parents before rushing to the door, once I was out of my house, I took out my smartphone to follow the directions to reach the skating rink.

After about twenty minutes, I was in front of the entrance, I saw a crowd of birds that was in front of it, but only one in particular had managed to get my attention, a bird with a cerulean plumage that was wearing at that moment a blue sea scarf... I had no doubts, it had to be Jewel, I thought to myself, accelerating my pace and looking forward to hug her.

"Jewel!" I screamed as I approached her more and more, I saw many faces looking at me but I didn't care, I was waiting for only one bird to turn around, a bird that had made my life perfect... after not even two seconds, I saw that bird turn slowly in my direction, once she had turned completely, I saw the face of Jewel, she was getting more and more beautiful day after day...

"Blu! You're early!" She said smiling at me and coming towards me.

"Well, you are early too, we hadn't said to meet here at 9 o'clock? You're half an hour early!" I said hugging her, I saw with the tail of my eye her face flush, despite her having a strong personality, she really liked to show herself as a strong and determined bird, after all, she was a very independent woman and she wasn't afraid to say her opinion to anyone. But she also had a tender and soft side of her, a part that she was very ashamed to show especially in front of me.

"Blu... I see you're becoming more confident in your abilities" She said trying to form a smile as she returned the hug.

"All thanks to you and your advice, I'm slowly getting used to being myself even in front of perfect strangers" I said smiling and letting her go from my embrace.

"You know how to flatter me, come on and let's start with the skating lesson!" She said, grabbing my wing and pulling it to show me to go inside the building.

"Show me the way, my princess" I said, whispering to her.

"Oh Blu, I don't know what breakfast you ate in the morning but you look like a completely reborn bird!" She giggled as soon as she heard the nickname I had assigned to her.

We entered the skating rink and found ourselves in front of a long corridor lit by some lights placed on the ceiling, on the walls I saw many leaflets that proposed exhibitions and skating courses. Once arrived at the end of the corridor, we found ourselves in front of a desk where some birds were present.

"Hi, I booked for two birds for the outdoor skating rink." said Jewel, delivering the booking receipt to the bird sitting in front of her.

"Did you already booked? When did you have the time to do this? You asked me if I was willing to accompany you only last night..." I said, surprised by the organization that she had prepared.

"Actually, I had booked four days ago, I knew you wouldn't refuse to go skating with me." She smiled at me as she turned back to the bird in front of her.

"Perfect, everything is all right, here are your two keys to the locker room, you can take the equipment at the end of that corridor" The bird said while pointing with her wing a corridor next to us.

We thanked the bird and headed immediately to the corridor, it was a corridor that faced the skating rink, I saw many birds in the middle of the track juggling acrobatics while the most inexperienced dragged along the edges of the rink trying to gain confidence.

"Don't worry Blu, we won't have to go there." Jewel said as she held my wing tightly.

"What do you mean we won't go there? We didn't come here to skate?" I asked as I turned to her with a confused look.

"Did you listen to me carefully when I talked to that bird? I clearly said outdoor skating rink!" She said, chuckling at my lack of attention.

"Do they have an outdoor skating rink?" I asked, surprised by what she was telling me at that moment.

"Of course, yes, let's take our equipment so we can start our lesson right away!" She said as she pulled my wing, leading me to a stand where skating equipment was displayed. After giving our measure and getting everything we needed, we sat on a bench to wear all the equipment.

"Um... Jewel how do you wear this thing?" I asked as I held skates in my wing.

"Silly bird, you wear it like if it's a glove, it's like shoes that leave only the claws uncovered, it's the claws that will allow you to skate" she said showing me how I had to wear skates.

Once we've worn all of this, we headed towards a door, I was blindly following where Jewel went because it was now obvious that it wasn't the first time that she came to this skating rink, once crossed by the door, I was speechless...

"A FROZEN LAKE ?!" I said loudly, not believing what my eyes were seeing.

"What did you expect?" An outdoor skating rink after all was supposed to be a frozen lake, we are in Minnesota, one of the cities with the harshest winter in America." She said pulling my wing to reach the frozen lake as soon as possible.

"Jewel... are you sure it's safe?" After all, we're about to skate over a frozen lake..." I said timidly as I looked with frightened eyes at what was in front of me.

"Don't worry Blu, first of all we aren't alone, as you see, around us there are many birds that are skating, the frozen layer of the lake is very thick at this moment of the year, moreover many guards continuously watch over the lake to make sure that nobody is hurt." She said, pointing to several birds in uniform around the lake.

"Well... having them keep an eye on me will surely help me feel more comfortable..." I said finally stepping on the surface of the frozen lake.

I immediately opened my wings to keep my balance while Jewel chuckled at seeing me in that state, I gave an annoyed look at her as she stopped and whispered softly in my ears.

"Look and learn" She said as she began to take a run and then throw herself at full speed on the surface of the frozen lake, in the middle of the lake there were very few birds and so there was no danger of hitting anyone, I saw her performing pirouettes while she was going at full speed, darting gracefully on the frozen surface of the lake... she was beautiful, with that scarf at her neck and those skating moves made her stand out particularly in the crowd, very soon Jewel got the attention of the whole skating rink . She made another two or three laps before returning to my side while smiling at me with a dazzling smile.

"Incredible ... you never told me you knew how to skate so well..." I said, still incredulous at the spectacle that had witnessed my eyes.

"Thanks for the compliment my blue prince, now grab my wing, I'll help you join me in my dance" She said stretching her wing just waiting for me to grab it.

"For you I would do everything my princess" I said smiling and firmly grasping her wing and trying to stay in balance.

Jewel began to drag me slowly toward her and I let myself go without complain too much, after a few seconds I was now far from the unfrozen ground and I went slightly into a panic.

"Jewel... maybe it was better if we stayed at the indoor skating rink, at least there was the railing where I could lean on." I said, looking around me with a very worried look.

"You can always lean on me as much as you want." She giggled, as soon as I heard what she had just said, I blushed uncontrollably and lost my balance, I panicked and began to wriggle to stay on my balance, meanwhile Jewel desperately tried to keep me still but it was useless, I suddenly fell to the ground, on the cold surface of the frozen lake wetting my face. With my fall, unfortunately I had dragged Jewel along with me.

"Jewel... I'm so sorry... it's all my fault... I should be more careful next time" I said slowly rising with the help of my wings.

"Don't worry too much, it happens to everyone, why didn't you lean on me?" She asked, getting up thanks to my help.

"As soon as you said that sentence... let's say you made me very embarrassed..." I said, ashamed of my reaction.

"You mean when I told you that you could lean on me as much as you want?" She said, smiling mischievously at me, I couldn't help but slowly nod with my head.

"I don't understand how you can still be embarrassed in front of such words... in your stories you do exactly the same thing, after the main character had known for a while his soul mate, you start with your usual romantic speeches... you should have become accustomed to these situations, right? " Jewel said, helping me take small steps to get used to skating on ice.

"Writing and experiencing them firsthand are two completely different things... since we have been dating, it seems like I ended up in a story... it all seems too good to be true as if there were a superior being who controls what we say and what we do... **(AN:** **(͡ ° ͜ʖ ͡ °)** ) " I said looking at Jewel while holding her wing tightly as not to fall.

"Blu, don't think about those things too much, let's live our life as best we can, you're a very smart bird, once you learn how to maintain your balance, I'm sure you'll be soon skating very well!" Jewel said pulling a long sigh while repeating once again this motivational speech to me. Jewel suddenly stopped at the center of the rink for no apparent reason.

"Jewel? Why we stopped right her-" I tried to say but I was interrupted by her, she closed my beak with her wing and looked at me straight in my eyes, I stood still and in silence not understanding what she wanted to do when she, with her wing caressed me in the face and then pulled me towards her, it was a kiss... by now it had become something more and more common between the two of us... we had become more and more intimate...

"This is the only way I know to calm you down." She said once we separated from our kiss.

"You always manage to understand me... I'm happy to have you by my side..." I said smiling and holding her close to me.

"We will continue this talk as soon as we have finished your lesson, come on, follow my movements!" She said smiling at me while dragging my wing.

I stood in silence staring at her, I was firmly determined to improve my skills in skating for her and for myself, I absolutely wanted to be able to stay at her pace and maybe one day be able to dance with her on the ice... she held my wing tightly while helping me to become more familiar and after about half an hour later, I was already able to move on the ice without doing any crazy kind of acrobatics.

"Blu, you've improved a lot, I told you that you're one who learns very fast" She said, smiling at me while she watched me skate without her help.

"It's not very difficult after all, of course for now I only know how to move on the ice and all this is thanks to your help, Jewel" I said as I reached her.

"You will never change... always the usual humble and naive bird..." She smiled as she grasped my wing.

"Isn't that the reason why you love me? What do you say if we go to lunch? After all, we are here since this morning!" I said as I followed her around the frozen lake.

"I agree, after this long ice-skating session, I'm very hungry!" She said, holding my wing as we approached the exit.

"Everything for my princess..." I said whispering as we walked out of the frozen lake. Once we had changed and left the skating rink, we had stopped in front of the entrance because we didn't know where to eat, after all neither of us knew this area of the city well.

"Mmh, Jewel, do you know where we can go to eat?" I asked as I turned my head several times looking for some restaurant or bar.

"Honestly no, I don't know very well this area, how about if you come to me to eat? I mean not at the restaurant." She said looking at me.

"Eating at your home? So we'll have to go shopping?" I asked, surprised that she proposed me to come to her house to eat.

"My silly blue bird, my parents run a restaurant, it's normal for us to periodically supply our fridge, I suppose it's a yes, am I right?" She said, smiling at me.

"I don't see why I should refuse such a request from the kindest and most caring girl in the world" I said, giggling.

"So this is the real Blu that was hiding inside of you, I have to say that I don't mind at all when you make me all these compliments" She said fondly.

"Let's go, I don't want to make my princess starve." I said pulling her wing and setting off towards Jewel's house.

Suddenly a snow flake fell on my beak, that caught my attention and I raised my eyes to the sky, millions of snowflakes fell on the city as in spring, when you blow to a dandelion seed head, scattering everywhere their seeds and covering the sky with tiny white particles, _'It was winter after all, these sudden snowfalls are now in the order of the day'_ I thought to myself continuing to watch this light snowfall that managed to hypnotize me.

"Isn't it fantastic, Jewel? I will never get tired of admiring a snow fall." I said, not looking away from the sky.

"I agree with you, and to think that in some parts of the world they will never have the chance to watch such a show... we're really lucky aren't we?" She said admiring with me the show that was happening before our eyes.

"Ok Blu, if you cannot reach me, I'll close you out of my house!" I heard Jewel chuckle as she started running toward her home.

"Hey, it's not fair, you didn't give me any warning!" I said as I began chasing her desperately.

The wind blew against us, slowing us further and not to mention the snow that was once again covering the sidewalk, I saw her running with all her strength without ever slowing down, my heart was beating more than ever... my heart wasn't beating so strong just because I was running but also because of the immeasurable love I felt for her day after day...

I had always dreamed one day of being able to do these things with my soul mate, I didn't care if she closed me out of her house, ok maybe just a little bit afraid of that but I was too focused by her laughter, her smile as she turned from time to time to see if I was still chasing her. I purposely didn't reach her, _'If I had grabbed her immediately, all the fun would be over'_ I thought to myself smiling as I accelerated my pace to not get closed out of her home.

Once arrived near her house, I made a last sprint, getting ahead of Jewel with her great surprise and I arrived first at the door of her home panting and trying to catch my breath, I saw Jewel smiling with one of her typical sincere smiles while with a wing she had leaned against me, her head was covered with snow because of the light snowfall that was still falling above our heads.

"I see that my little princess is covered with snow." I said while with one of my wings I shook all the snow that was on her head.

"Blu... you're fast, I thought that you are much more clumsy..." She said, panting as she looked at me with a surprised face.

"I still have a lot of surprises waiting to be discovered, now please, open that door because I'm very thirsty after the race we just had." I said as I helped her get to the door.

Once inside, I sprawled on the couch, although I arrived first, I was really tired, I closed my eyes for a few seconds thinking about our day, when we had fun skating, when she kissed me, when we fell on the frozen lake and much more... I was so relaxed when I suddenly received a pillow in my face, that cushion brought me back to this world, awakening from my moment of relaxation. Once I suddenly opened my eyes, I saw the responsible of all this, it was none other than my girlfriend Jewel.

"Why you did that, Jewel..." I said, stroking my face for the blow I had just received.

"You didn't mean to sleep, right? I remind you that we have to prepare lunch!" She said smiling at me as she pulled my wing to get me up from the couch.

"Yes, you're right, because of our race, I forgot that I was starving" I said as I got up from the couch and reached Jewel in the kitchen.

"So Jewel, what are you going to cook for lunch?" I asked as I watched her open the fridge.

"Mmh... I have some eggs, some vegetables, some potatoes..." She said as she looked carefully at what was in the fridge.

"We can make hash browns and a vegetable frittata" I said as I leaned a wing over her shoulder and looked into the fridge.

"How can you think of what recipes to do so quickly?" Jewel asked surprised by my ideas.

"Being a writer sometimes helps you think creatively and alternately, many times I don't focus on what I have in front of me, you don't know how many times I found myself in this situation, my parents in the library and I alone at home having to prepare for myself something to eat." I said, smiling as I took out the necessary ingredients from the fridge.

"I see, you were right when you said you were full of surprises, so I prepare the hash brown while you prepare the vegetable frittata?" She asked as she held between her wings some potatoes.

"Perfect, let's move on that I'm hungry!" I said sarcastically as I began to wash some vegetables in front of me.

I began to cut a zucchini, an eggplant, an onion, a carrot and an artichoke. I cut them into small cubes and placed them near to the mixture of eggs I had previously beaten, done that, pulled out a pan, put on a little 'oil and lit the fire, I turned quickly to see what Jewel was doing and I saw her while she had just finished slicing the potatoes.

"You are really skilled with the knife, Jewel, you cut them so well that they don't seem to be hand-cut (wing) at all" I said admiring the strips of potatoes she had just cut.

"Thanks Blu, even your vegetables are chopped very well, my family runs a restaurant so don't be surprised if I am pretty good in the kitchen, although, you're the one that surprises me most, where you learned to cook?" She asked as she watched me skip the vegetables in the pan.

"Well, since i was child, I watched my mother in the kitchen, I was always surprised about how she turned a simple ingredient like an apple, into a beautiful apple pie, so I began to carefully observe every single movement of her, until she one day asked me if I wanted to help her and from here on, you can understand the progress I've made since that day" I said pouring the freshly beaten eggs into my pan and shaking it to cover the entire surface of the pan.

"So we have a lot in common, even I started in this way, I'm happy that you can cook so I can take some days off when I get home, tired from another day at work without having to worry about you starving" She giggled as she putted the sliced potatoes in the pan.

Those words of Jewel had struck me in the depths of my heart, _'Was she already thinking of our possible life together? Was she already thinking about our life as a couple?'_ I thought to myself, blushing only at the thought of living with her.

"Jewel... are you already thinking about how we will live our life together?" I timidly said while I was careful to not burn the frittata that I have in my pan.

"What? But I've never said anything about tha-" She said, stopping suddenly and blushing as she thought of what she had just said.

"Don't worry too much Jewel, we still have a whole life in front of us, but I think it's better for you to not burn the hash brown in your pan!" I said as I pointed to his pan with my wing.

"You silly bird, I think you should look at your frittata, my hash brown must come out of the frying pan beautifully crunchy, unlike you, if I slightly burn them, they will be even better!" She said, replying to what I had just told her.

"Well you're not wrong, you're a very smart woman" I said as I toss in the air my frittata waving my pan with a quick gesture of my wings.

"Blu! Are you crazy? And if you dropped the frittata? You have little experience to perform such a move!" She said as she watched me toss my frittata in the air and take it back immediately with my pan.

"I learned this move from my father, I always admired him when he boasted in front of me and my mother tossing our lunch or dinner in the air, thinking back, I remember that time when he dropped all our lunch and making my mother very angry." I said giggling while I turned off the flame.

"You almost made me faint, next time be more careful..." She said pulling a long sigh as she turned off the flame of the stove.

I took our plates on the table and we both sat down, since I couldn't wait to eat, I immediately started with Jewel's hash brown that she had prepared for the two of us, as soon as I took a bite, I was speechless, it was crunchy outside and soft inside. It was just perfect... I couldn't resist... so I started to stuff myself, forgetting about good manners. I heard Jewel giggle in the meantime, looked up to see her while she was looking at me with an amused expression.

"Do you like so much the food that I prepared for you?" She said as she kept looking at me while I was eating.

"It's extremely good Jewel! You must absolutely pass to me your recipe." I said, stopping and going back to myself to not make a bad impression.

"Don't worry Blu, with me you can be yourself, behave as you would at your home, don't feel forced to eat in a polite way and so on, also your frittata isn't bad too." She said while she happily ate my frittata. "By the way Blu, how is your book going? I don't want to distract you too much from your book." She said looking up.

"It's going well, one night, during a dream I had an incredible idea, I suddenly woke up to pin down everything I had dreamed of so as to not forget it!" I said before grabbing and drinking a glass of water.

"I see... could you tell me the plot? If you don't mind, of course..." She asked shyly, trying to not look away from me.

"Of course, it talks about two lovers, many years has passed since they met and fell in love, his wife died of old age leaving him alone among his children and grandchildren, one evening, during a meteor shower, he expressed a wish while raising his eyes to the sky..." I said, stopping on purpose to tease Jewel.

"What wish did he wish?" Jewel asked me very intrigued by my plot.

"To be able to relive his life with his wife" I said smiling at her as I appreciated her curiosity and attention to my new story.

"And that wish comes true or not?" She asked, approaching closer and closer to me with her head.

"Emh... don't you think you're exaggerating a bit 'too much... this must only be a plot not my whole story..." I giggled as I watched her who was now sitting on the edge of her chair.

"Come on Blu, tell me only if that wish comes true or not..." She asked, looking at me with eyes full of hope.

"When you do like that... okay, after expressing that wish, he dies" I said, laughing for having destroyed every single hope of hers.

"What?! How can you do something so cruel Blu!" She said surprised at how my story had changed in a short time.

"Jewel... everything starts with death, there is no life without death, sooner or later it will happen to everyone, to be able to reborn, you have to die, have you understood what I mean?" I said, putting down my fork and waiting impatiently for her answer.

"Are you saying that, in order to start a new life with his wife, he must die?" She asked in a doubtful tone as she looked at me.

"Exactly, I was sure you would get it, to be able to relive his life, he must first give up the life he currently has, now I'll stop, I have already revealed to you too much of my plot." I said, smiling as I got up from my chair to put the dishes in the sink.

"I cannot wait to read your book! Are you going to leave immediately or do you want to stay a little longer with me?" She asked as I sat on the couch.

"Jewel, if you ask me such a question, then it means that you want me to stay, isn't it?" I said, laughing at her silly question.

"You are very perspicacious, so I suppose it's a yes, we can see a movie together if you want." She said sitting next to me while resting her head on my shoulder, I did nothing but smile and with one wing hold her close to me.

"If you want to spend time with me, I'm more than happy to do it." I said grabbing the remote control and turning on the TV.

* * *

New Year's Eve was approaching, these 5 days I have spent it with Jewel, Rafael and Rebecca, unfortunately I didn't have much time to continue my story but this didn't bother me at all, _'My current life has absolute priority, especially now that she is with me...'_ I thought to myself as I wrote very quickly with my new pen on a blank sheet in front of me.

I raised my gaze momentarily to return to the reality, I found myself as usual upstairs of the library, around me there were only a few birds that chatted in a low voice, apart from them, reigned silence as I liked. It was snowing really hard from the window of the library, it was really hard to see what was happening out there, I saw only some car silhouettes and some passersby going back and forth without being able to clearly distinguish them, fortunately that our family was safe inside with heating.

Once I finished looking out, I turned my eyes on my sheets holding the pen that Jewel had given me... I must admit that it was really beautiful... _'Just like her'_ I thought... Jewel told me that she had received help from Rafael but when I had talked to him, he had confessed to me that he had only brought her to a friend of his and the rest had done all by herself... _'What a humble girl...'_

"And with this I finished another chapter!" I said aloud as I putted down the pen.

"Son, I see your book is going really well." My mother said, as she was upstairs to see how I was doing.

"Well, because of these holidays, I have lowered the pace a bit but I have to say it's going well and it's all thanks to you and dad that always support me and my passion." I said smiling as I put the paper that I had just filled with ink and words in a binder.

"Just stop being humble son, we are only doing our job as a parent, who is to support and help you with every choice that our son makes." Said my father putting a wing on my mother's hips.

"How come you're both over here? Don't you have to watch over the customers who come in and out of the library?" I asked, surprised to see my father.

"I think you've already seen that snowstorm out there, how many birds do you think would venture into all that snow and cold?" My father said, giggling.

"When you talk like that dad, you look like a completely different bird, do you know that?" I said, smiling at my two parents.

"You are right, son, but it is also for this reason that I love your father so much..." My mother said, resting her head on my father's shoulder.

"Just stop with the praises, are you both ready for the new year?" My father said, addressing both me and my mother.

"As long as you both are with me, I have no fear of the future and of all the obstacles that will be on my path." I said with a determined face and without thinking it twice.

Let's say that I managed once again to make my mother and father cry, on one side I feel guilty to force their sensitive part but on the other side this is a clear indication of how much they care about me...

"The same is true for us, son... are you happy for the holiday we have organized in the mountains?" My mother said, recovering from the previous outburst of emotions.

"More than happy, it's been a while since we've been out in the mountains, I hope I've kept my skills as a skier and a snowboarder." I said, giggling as I thought about my previous family skiing.

"Oh don't worry, son, I'm sure you still have all your skiing skill, you'll impress everyone, especially her..." My father said, patting my shoulders.

"I agree with your father and then you have a double room... to share..." My mother said, smiling mischievously.

"Thanks dad and mom and I beg you to not get that story out again... you know very well that I would never dare to do something like that with Jewel... or at least not now..." I said, blushing suddenly thinking about all the situations that could happen in the event that I and Jewel have to share the same bed...

* * *

The day after was the last day of the year, December 31, today I had woken up more rested than usual, I got out of bed without thinking twice because I knew it was a very special day, once I went downstairs I had seen my father talking on the phone with someone and my mother pretending to do something to eavesdrop on my father's conversation... the years passed but she always remains the same... my one and only nosy mother _'Without offense of course'_ I thought to myself chuckling at the scene that my eyes saw.

"Okay I understood, I'll immediately tell him." My father said before closing the call.

"Honey, with who were you talking about?" My mother asked, intrigued by the conversation she had just heard from my father.

"I was talking to Eduardo about tonight's dinner..." My father said, looking around. "Ah here you are son, I have something to tell you." My father said, turning to me smiling.

"What do you have to tell me dad?" I said, intrigued by what my father wanted to tell me.

"Eduardo asked me if you could accompany Jewel to do the shopping for tonight's dinner... I said you were more than happy to help her... did I made the right choice?" My father asked, smiling because he already knew my answer.

"Of course dad, I'm more than happy to help her! And, let's say that now I'm used to shopping at the last minute..." I said sarcastically.

"That's how i want you son, come on, let's have breakfast because you have things to do afterwards." My mother said inviting me to sit down at the table. I immediately obeyed my mother without thinking twice, once I had finished breakfast and asked my father at what time I had to find myself with Jewel, I left home ready for this new day with my one and only... Jewel.

 _'My father told me that Jewel would wait for me in front of the city square'_ I thought as I wandered the streets of the city, the streets were very crowded but I still managed to reach my destination, once I arrived, I immediately noticed a angelic figure in the crowd of birds that were in front of me... there was no doubt, it was definitely her... Jewel.

I hurried to get there and once I got in front of her ... she suddenly turned to my surprise and kissed me on my cheeks... _'Why she did that...'_ I thought as I blushed madly because of her, she seemed to do it on purpose to surprise me and see me in embarrassment…

"Oh Blu... I would never get tired of seeing you with this expression on your face." She said, whispering in a seductive tone.

"Jewel... I'm happy to see you again..." I timidly said, still shaken by the sudden kiss on the cheeks I had just received.

"The same thing is true for me too, my silly bird" She said smiling at me.

"So we have to do the shopping for tonight? Do you already have any idea where to go?" I asked, looking around for some ideas, I was planning to go to the supermarket but I remembered that we had already gone there last time so I decided discard this idea.

"Well I thought just to change, we could go to the market... it's fine for you, right?" She asked me as she pointed the way to the market.

"As long as I can be with you... I'm willing to follow you everywhere..." I said confidently.

"Aww Blu, you're so cute when you say things like that... follow me, my blue prince." She said sarcastically.

After traveling a bit 'of streets of the city, we are walking on a long and very crowded road, we were finally in front of the market, on the sides of the road, were placed all the stalls while the central part of the street was dedicated entirely to pedestrians. Inside the market there was everything... from raw materials like meat, fish, vegetables and fruit, to clothes, souvenirs, postcards, ready-made foods and so on.

I was really fascinated by all those things on display... I have always seen this happy atmosphere from afar but I never had the courage to come here, because I didn't feel very comfortable in the crowd... but now it's different... as long as I have she by my side I am willing to change.

I looked at the stall in front of me with great amazement, it was full of fruit and vegetables of all kinds, there was a big difference with what they sell in supermarkets, the fruits that were exposed had some flaws in their appearance, _'They must be organic fruits and vegetables'_ I thought to myself staring at what I had in front of me.

"Jewel... are those organic fruits and vegetables, right?" I said, indicating what was on display at a stall in front of me.

"Exactly Blu, those have been cultivated here not far away, usually you only find them here and not at the supermarket." She said after turning in my direction.

"They look really good..." I said looking at a large apple that was in front of me.

"Organic fruits and vegetables are the best you can have, they represent the perfection of nature!" She said as she stopped in front of a stall to buy more stuff.

"Perfection doesn't exist, or at least with the definition we have assigned to that word doesn't exist, we set ourselves the goal to achieve it but we know from the beginning that it will be an impossible task, despite this, aiming for perfection helps us to continue and never give up, hoping to reach this unreachable goal that is beyond our capabilities." I said, turning to her smiling.

"Okay my little blue bird, when you talk like that, I must admit that you're really charming" She said giggling as she returned to negotiating the price with a shopkeeper.

"Hello, what do you recommend to me, for making the stew for tonight?" Jewel asked as she stopped suddenly at a stand.

"Mmh, stew you says? Then you must absolutely take these carrots and these potatoes! You will absolutely make a great impression to all your guest!" The shopkeeper said in front of us showing us all the vegetables he had available.

"Thank you so much, then could you give me half a kilo of each." Jewel said, pointing with her wing what vegetables to take. _'Wow... you can ask for some advice? Unlike the supermarket where many times they are very rude to their customer... you really never stop learning'_ I thought to myself surprised by the friendliness of the shopkeeper... After making a complete tour of the market, now we had between our wings many bags full of ingredients for tonight's dinner.

"Ok Blu, I think we got everything, we can go back to the restaurant, yours parents should already be there waiting for us." Jewel said turning to me while looking at the time on her smartphone.

"Perfect, Jewel I have to admit that the market is definitely superior to the supermarket as hospitality and sometimes also with quality..." I said as I couldn't stop looking around, _'The chatter, the smiles, the atmosphere... it was definitely better in many other ways...'_ I thought smiling at what I was seeing.

"You're right, too many times, I go to the supermarket for convenience, but I always like to come back here... it's a feeling that must be felt sooner or later in life." Jewel said while we were on our way back to the restaurant.

"I absolutely agree with you Jewel, let's hurry up that otherwise your father will start worrying about us." I said, accelerating my pace.

On the way to the restaurant of Jewel, I had glimpsed a familiar figure across the street... it was a female dark blue feathered macaw with yellow feathers around her eyes and her beak, those green eyes... It was definitely Rebecca and next to her was another bird identical to her... _'That must surely be that famous Alex she spoke to me when we were at the mall'_ I thought as I looked at them.

I decided to not interrupt their intimate moment, but when she turned on my side I winked at her and nodded my head in approval, she, once she had seen me, blushed uncontrollably and I couldn't help but take a picture... I started giggling among myself until Jewel noticed my behavior and asked me what I was doing.

"Blu... what are you doing?" Jewel asked worriedly because I had suddenly started laughing for no reason.

"It's because of Rebecca who is now with Alex, needless to say that she has a crush on him and as soon as she looked at me I winked at her and nodded my head in approval." I laughed while I pointed with my wing in Rebecca and Alex direction.

"Ah now I understand everything... but no one will ever beat us when it comes to love, right Blu?" Jewel said teasing me.

"Ehm... yes... you're right Jewel... but this photo is beautiful! I'll send it right away to Rafael!" I said enthusiastically as I prepared to send the photo.

"What a funny guy... maybe I should start making photo of you when you're embarrassed and shy, after that I'll send them to my friends." She said sarcastically as she pulled out her smartphone.

"NO... please Jewel, don't do it if you truly care about me..." I said trying to cover my face to avoid her being able to capture this embarrassing moment with the camera of her smartphone.

"You see, you're too cute when you do that, don't worry, I promise you I won't share anything with others... you're all mine Blu..." Jewel said while she showed me the video where she had just recorded this embarrassing scene.

"Ehm... of course, I will only be yours, Jewel..." I said not trusting very much of her promise she had just made to me. After another 5 minutes of walking we finally arrived in front of the restaurant, outside the window you could see my parents along with the parents of Jewel and her aunt Mimi, once we got inside we were immediately welcomed with open arms.

"Ah, you both finally came back huh?" Jewel's father said sarcastically as he helped us keeping the restaurant door open for us.

"Excuse me sir, on the way to the restaurant I met my dear friend and we got distracted a little..." I tried to justify myself while I was bringing the shopping bag in the kitchen.

"Don't listen to my husband Blu, the important thing is that you both have come back with the ingredients for tonight's dinner." Jewel's mother said as she helped me keeping the kitchen door open.

"Come on guys, let's get to the stove that time flies!" My mother said, getting up from the sofa and then joining us in the kitchen.

We were all excited as we all headed into the kitchen, although I had already been there, I always love the kitchen of a restaurant... wide workbenches... many stoves on which you can cook multiple things at once, many machines and gadgets that I had never seen… it was as if I was in a whole new world.

Once we washed our hands (wings), Eduardo, the head chef has divided us into tasks, he and my father will take care of the stoves, my mother and the mother of Jewel will take care of preparation of the ingredients of the dishes, Mimi will help my father and Jewel's father and will take care of tasting the plates and finally I and Jewel... washing and peeling vegetables... well I have to say I didn't expect to receive some kind of amazing role but not even a role like that... but at least I was with her... I would always be happy standing by her side.

"Come on Blu, let's start from the potatoes, you wash them and I peel them." Jewel said while washing a potatoes and then began to peel it.

"Yes, ma'am." I said, starting to get a lot of potatoes out of the shopping bags and then throwing them all inside the sink, carefully washing them.

"Oh Blu, you don't have to call me that that... you can call me mistress." Jewel said seductively as she looked at me with an amused expression.

"Yes, mistress..." I said deciding to play along with her game, once I said that, a chorus of laughter started inside the kitchen, _'It wasn't really up to me to embarrass myself in front of other birds, I usually did it only in front of my family but after all... this was my new family'_ I thought to myself, laughing with them.

"They'll be a fantastic couple, am I right honey?" I heard my father whisper to my mother not far from us.

"You have no idea, a couple like them isn't seen very often." My mother said, laughing with my father.

After so much effort and sweat, we finally managed to finish everything by 20 pm, let's say that we have exaggerated once again... _'Okay we are in 7 but that doesn't mean we have to eat for 30 birds...'_ I thought to myself at the incredulously amount of food that was currently present on the table.

"Can I have everyone's attention? I would like to thank all of you for being here this evening at the 'Birds Of Blue Feathers' restaurant, eat and have fun as much as you can!" Jewel's father said as he stood up to draw the attention of the whole family.

That said we made a family toast... _'For a new year even happier and more exciting than the previous one!'_ we yelled in chorus, once finished eating and when it was almost midnight, my father pulled out of the car a lot of boxes full of fireworks... I honestly didn't expect it from him but that's okay...

"Come on, we can't end the New Year's Eve without some fireworks!" My father said, smiling as he pulled out fireworks and set them on the ground.

"You look like the kid who you used to be." My mother said, laughing and hugging my father.

"Great idea John, come on! Let's get ready for midnight!" Eduardo said as he invited everyone out of the restaurant. That said we all gathered outside of the restaurant and we placed the fireworks in front of the entrance, 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... HAPPY NEW YEAR we shouted in chorus... and at the signal we fired all the fireworks at the same time creating in the sky an unforgettable show.

Thousands of colors covered that sky from many directions, many birds came out from their houses or looking from their window of their homes to be able to attend this show that only happened once a year, I stood there still without diverting my gaze from the sky that was colored at that time in many colors. At that moment I acted instinctively and put my wing around Jewel and enveloping her with the warmth of my body.

"For a year full of happiness and emotions Jewel." I said, whispering into her ears.

"I agree with what you just said Blu..." Jewel said, resting her head on my shoulder. _'It was so that began a new chapter of my life... no longer alone but with the woman I love most...'_ I thought to myself, looking forward to starting this new year.

* * *

 **Here we are at the end of the chapter, as you can see, if you suggest interesting ideas for my story, I'll add them, especially in the case of this story which, for most of the time is a slice of life, so if you have any ideas or suggestions for the next chapter, don't hesitate to write me via PM or leaving a review.**

 **As for the next chapter... same timing, from 1 to 2 weeks, maybe even later because on July 13 I will be turning 20... I'm feeling much older now xD. Although I told you guys that I will suspend my new story for the moment, I left the plot inside this chapter.**

 **PS: anyway, this story will definitely exceed the 100k of words lol, doing some quick calculation and thanks to the flood of ideas that** **Fanfiction guy** **writes to me every time, I predict that will arrive at 150k, since I planned from the beginning to end it with the book fair of Minnesota, I don't know if I'll make a sequel or not but I think it's still early to think about it. Also, if you guys can tell me if from the first chapter I've written, I've had some sort of improvement since then, I would be very grateful, I would love to know if I'm improving or I'm continuing to make the same mistakes.**

 **We will see each other again in the next chapter when I'll be 20 years old and with one of the moments where I enjoyed the most while writing this story.**

 **~Fenix139**


	9. Frozen Time Part 1

**Blu POV**

* * *

-Frozen Time Part 1

"Blu... I have to tell you something ..." Jewel said while sitting with me at the bus stop ready to go home.

"What do you have to tell me, Jewel? You know that with me you can be as honest as you want!" I replied holding her wing while in the distance we could see the bus we were waiting for.

"I hate to lie to you but ... I love another bird" She sighed, not daring to look me in the face, those words broke my heart in millions of pieces, it was as if I was overwhelmed by countless of truck in a row... it was an unbearable pain, it didn't hurt me physically but my feelings... I did nothing but stand there still and looking at her with an incredulous expression.

"B-b-but... are you kidding me, right? Until yesterday we were so in love... what happened that made you change your mind?" I asked as I tried to get her attention as she turned away from me.

"You're not my type, we have two too different personalities to be together..." She said looking at me one last time before getting on the bus that had just arrived at the bus stop.

"But wasn't that who brought us together?" I insisted while I followed her in the bus, still not fully understanding what had just happened. It was late at night and the whole vehicle was empty except for us two and the driver. The light of the vehicle was apparently broken because it was switched off, I could see her only thanks to the gentle rays of the moon that pierced the darkness inside the bus, I saw Jewel moving away from me until she reached the end of the vehicle. She suddenly stopped and started talking without looking at me.

"I thought so too, but I have changed my mind, I could never live my life with you, I'm sorry Blu but this is goodbye" Jewel said, finally turning to me and giving me a cold and indifferent look, those eyes had petrified me, it was the first time I saw this kind of look devoid of any emotion and indifference in a single bird... it was as if all our time spent together, our memories, our adventures were worth nothing in front of her...

"I don't understand... until five minutes ago, we were there at the bus stop hugging each other and now all this..." I said sobbed, trying to keep the tears at bay that didn't stop coming down from my now completely swollen eyes.

"I didn't want to go that far but you're so stubborn and you've always been like that, I felt for a very short time, feelings towards you but it didn't last long, I'm sorry Blu but my heart now belongs to someone else" Jewel said coldly as she was about to get off the bus.

"Where are you going Jewel?!" I screamed, trying to get her attention. "Your house is located six stops later!" I continued and then started running to chase her with all the strength that at that moment my body allowed me.

"Stop following me! You see that you're a stubborn bird! "She shouted and then stopped in front of a bird covered in the shadow of the night, I couldn't distinguish his face but thanks to a passing car, I managed to catch a glimpse of his face, it was a face unknown to me but he was a Blue Macaw just like me...

"Is he the guy you left me for?" I asked as I saw them hugging under the moonlight, they ignored me... as if I was worth nothing, as if I didn't exist, as if I was just an object that belonged to background of their romantic scene of love and affection. I was about to repeat my question when suddenly they kissed... that's it, if I had even the slightest chance and hope of being able to reconquer Jewel, after that gesture, the possibilities were equals to zero, I turned around without say anything and went on my way without looking back. It was over between me and Jewel, _'Taking advantage of my feelings? How could she..._ ' I thought to myself as I was immersed in the rage that had managed to blind me at that moment.

I kept walking until something made me suspicious, except for Jewel and his new boyfriend, the streets were completely empty, it was really strange I thought to myself as I started running to see if there were other birds besides me, I just had the idea of pulling out my phone and making a call to my parents to give them the bad news and to ask for a couple of explanations. My suspicions grew even more when I arrived in front of a mirror, I couldn't see my reflection... it was all blurred and I couldn't distinguish the features of my body... _'It's impossible...'_ I thought to myself starting to rub repeatedly my unbelieving eyes.

"Please... tell me that I'm just dreaming..." I prayed as I continually moved left and right to try to make my reflection appear, all of a sudden my last words struck me like a thunderbolt, _'Of course!'_ I thought as a smile formed on my face. It was all a dream and I finally managed to realize it, which means I'm having a lucid dream, I had heard many stories about lucid dreams, if you could realize that what you are seeing wasn't real and then you had in your wings the total control of your dream...

I decided to test these temporary powers and I began thinking of making a trash bin disappear in front of me, I struggled with all the energies I had and after a few seconds, what I had expected happened, the trash bin suddenly disappeared in front of my eyes. My smile grew even more and I began to sow destruction around the city, I was creating fireballs and any object that came to mind and then fling them at the buildings, trees, cars... in short, everything that happened to me crosses my path of destruction.

"Stop right now Blu!" I heard a very familiar female voice behind me, I turned around and saw Jewel hugging her boyfriend whom I had seen earlier.

"Why should I stop? Give me only one reason to stop what I'm doing, you and your boyfriend can safely find a shelter and do your business, I don't care about you two anymore." I said, giving the couple I had in front of me a look of contempt and disgust, although I was aware that all of this was a dream, I could not remain lucid in front of such a scene.

"You can't do something like that Blu! Where is that romantic and thoughtful bird that I had met?" She cried desperately as she tried to approached me.

"Back off," I said coldly as I swept her away with a strong shock wave and knocked her close to her boyfriend. "Isn't it ironic? First I was the desperate one, look at how unfair life is, don't think that I don't dare to hurt you, you're not the same Jewel that I have fallen madly in love with, you have only her face and voice, nothing else!" I said materializing a cage and locking her inside with the powers I had recently obtained.

"Enough!" Shouted Jewel's new boyfriend and then hurled himself in my direction. "Foolish" I said, raising my wing in his direction and then sweeping it away with another shock wave and launching him against a nearby palace, once he's body and the palace one came in contact, thousands of debris flew in the air creating a rain of bricks and cement in front of me. Once all the dust in front of me has cleared off, I saw him slowly getting up from where he was and then giving me a defiant look, I was having a lot of fun, _'I love lucid dreams'_ I thought to myself while a mischievous smile formed on my face.

"Blu you are a monster! How can you be so insensitive and selfish?!" Jewel yelled from behind me and then threw a stone in my direction, I slowly turned not scared at all of what was about to hit me and stopped the stone a few inches from my face thanks to the strength of the barrier that I created with my glance.

"You have to stop it! As I have already told you, I don't give a damn about you, you are only the result of my superfine imagination, it isn't from me to boast but hey, this is my dream and I am the one who set the rules!" I said, sending the stone from where it had just come, the stone was about to hit the face of Jewel but I stopped it, although I knew it was a dream, I couldn't see her suffer, she was, after all, an exact and faithful reproduction of the appearance of my girlfriend.

"You are lucky that I haven't completely gone out of control, I will only make you disappear without hurting you." I said, raising my wing and making disappear half of the city that was present before my eyes.

"You are crazy! How can you treat a girl like that?!" A voice shouted behind me. I turned around, already knowing who that voice belonged to. "How dare you talk to me like that? Should I teach you a lesson of good manner?" I replied arrogantly as I saw his face completely pervaded by hatred and anger, if I remember correctly, the faces of the birds we see in our dreams belong to birds we have actually seen or met, our brain isn't powerful enough to create faces completely from scratch and therefore it draws from our memories, the birds we know, the birds we encounter by chance on the street, the birds we see on the television and so on.

"Out of curiosity, what's your name? I would like to know the name of the one I'm about to kill" I asked as I created a very powerful gravity field out of nowhere to keep him kneeling on the ground, the floor where he was standing up to that moment, broke down because of the immense strength that I had just unleashed.

"Never!" He shouted while angrily glaring at me before collapsing on the ground due to the gravity field I had just created.

"Well, let's finish it once for all!" I said, raising my wings to the sky to summon a gigantic meteorite on the now devastated city. "Your last prayers?" I asked, wanting to rage him even more as if what I was doing wasn't enough, he remained silent without saying anything, _'I see that my brain cannot formulate any suitable answer for a moment like this... what a pity...'_ I thought as I let the big meteorite fell over our heads.

"You are crazy! You'll die too!" He screamed as he gave me a surprised look of what I was about to do.

"You're wrong, you'll die while I can't, this is my dream and I'm the one who set the rules!" I said and then gave him an evil laugh typical of those who you could listen in the movies. The meteorite fell with an impressive force and completely disintegrating everything around me, I soon found myself in the void, with no reference point that showed me where I was at that moment, _'It's too fun to play the role of God'_ I thought to myself as I looked around, suddenly a blinding light hit me in the face, it couldn't be the result of my imagination, it was all too true to be a dream...

I had been awakened by the blinding rays of the sun, it continued to disturb my sleep that I couldn't help but turn around on the other side of the bed irritated by what was happening to me. After a few seconds as I understood that I could no longer get back to sleep. I got up from my bed puffing, my head was still hurting... _'Maybe it's because I slept really late'_ I thought to myself touching my head with my two wings trying to relieve the pain... I had spent the whole evening with Jewel and I had lost track of time... _'I don't even know how many hours I slept...'_ I thought as I opened and quickly closed my eyes looking around.

 _'What an exciting dream... and at the same time without any logical sense, it was a long time since I had so much fun'_ I thought to myself as I looked around my room, everything was in order, I was really awake, I thought while I pulled a long sigh still very tired for having slept so few hours...

Once I got up from my bed, I stretched a little as I rubbed my eyes quickly getting on my way towards the door of my room, once I opened the door I made a small yawn as I walked awkwardly towards the bathroom, while I was walking past a room near me, I noticed a strange sound coming from my right, I turned in that direction and saw that it came from the room of my parents, as I approached the door and leaned on it, there was no doubt... _'Someone was snoring but who of the two or both of them?'_ I thought to myself trying to keep myself from laughing... I had to absolutely know it. I silently opened the door and took a quick look inside the room, it was all in order, nothing was out of place, so I approached the bed and saw my father and mother still immersed in their deep sleep, my father with a wing embraced my mother while she rested her head on his chest...

 _'A really romantic scene'_ I thought... inside of me I hoped to be able to do it one day with her... at the thought alone, I immediately blushed without control, I tried to return to what I had in mind to do, understanding who of them were snoring, as I approached my parents, I immediately understood that it was my father, he drank too much after all... last night he and Jewel's father had drunk as if there was no tomorrow, he was so drunk that I couldn't help but getting on the driver seat and bringing my family back home, it wasn't like him to snore this way... _'It must be the fault of that large amount of alcohol he had consumed the night before'_ I thought.

* * *

 **Flashback the night before**

"Son, I want a Lamborghini car, buy me one for your old father!" My father suddenly asked me while he putted on the table a big glass of beer pulling a long sigh of satisfaction.

"Really?" I nearly spilled what I was drinking as I heard my father's request, as I got near him, I immediately understood that he was drunk from his scent. "Mom! Dad is drunk… he's talking no sense about him wanting a Lamborghini car from me." I shouted, trying to get my mother's attention.

"Just ignore him, son! Don't you dare to fulfill his request!" I heard my mother shouting from the room near us.

"You don't say? Of course I won't! He's the one who is drunk, not me! And I don't even have all that money to buy a car like that." I gave an annoyed look towards my mother while I watched my father slowly sprawling on the sofa as he relaxed his whole body.

"C'mon sell one of your autographed books so you can raise enough money to buy me one." My father asked me while raising his gaze toward me with two very hopeful blue eyes.

"It's not that easy dad..." I said while looking at him with an awkward face not knowing how to convince him. "Wait, why I'm even trying to resonate with you while you're drunk…" I immediately murmured, shaking several time my head because of how dumb am I being in that moment.

"You're T. Gunderson, just go and make some advertising for some shady or weird company and make your dad happy." My father replied giving me an annoyed look.

"Who want a writer to advertise their product? They will seek for some movie star or football star!" I replied immediately to my father, ready to start an argument with him.

 **~ Two hour later...**

"Just let me drive, I promise that I won't do any crazy stunt!" My father said while firmly holding the driving wheel.

"Stop acting like a kid! You are a father and next time; I forbid you to drink so much." My mother sighed as she used her brute force to drag my father to the backseat… I stayed still, watching this very embarrassing scene without saying anything, I just sighed as I sat on the driver seat, ready to bring my family back to our home. During the trip, my father wouldn't shut his beak… it was as if he needed to have the last word to any of our conversation.

"Put the 5th gear! C'mon don't be so afraid kiddo, your grandma drive faster that you! Who the hell gave you the driving license?" My father taunted me while he was trying to reach the gear shift, I immediately panicked fearing the worst when he was immediately grabbed by two wings. "Are you crazy? We aren't on the highway! Don't you dare to disturb our son while he's driving!" My mother shouted while firmly holding still my father and not letting him move a single muscle.

"Leave me alone! Since when I married such an annoying wife!" My father countered as they started  
arguing. "What did you just said? Oh, I promise you that you'll regret what you've just said!" My mother shouted at him.

"I don't even recognize him anymore…" I murmured while firmly holding the driving wheel and carefully paying attention to my surrounding.

"I agree, that's why I told him to don't drink too much…" My mother quickly replied to me while she watched my father suddenly falling asleep in her lap, she smiled at the sight of him sleeping peacefully and not annoying anyone anymore. "Thank God that he's sleeping right now!" My mother continued as she could finally rest after this long and exhausting night.

Flashback end

* * *

I tried to keep myself from laughing, many times he reminds me of myself, _'Surely he has a huge influence in my life, not only because he was my father but also because I considered him an example to follow, despite many times when he behaved too much as a child, when he pulls out his serious side, I cannot help but listen carefully to every single thing he says'_ I thought smiling as I watched my two parents still on the bed. They breathed in synchrony... it was as though in sleep they were connected by an invisible bond that only they could see or feel... their chest rose and fell slowly, expelling and inhaling the oxygen to feed their tired body.

Satisfied with what I had discovered, I turned to the exit of the room, I went out slowly without making too much noise. Once I got out of the room, I thought I could make them a surprise... _'Since they've always sacrificed for me, today I'll prepare breakfast, after all it's the least I can do'_ I thought and then went straight downstairs and putted myself at work. Half an hour later I had already placed on the plates, three stacks of pancakes with blueberries on top of them and finished it with some whipped cream, in short, the perfect breakfast for our family. After squeezing the last oranges, I brought everything to the table, ready to wake up my parents.

After all of this, I went upstairs to wake up my parents, once I had entered the room, they were still in the same position... I approached my mother to wake her up first, after two or three taps on her shoulder, she woke up. "Uhm... son, how come you're already awake?" My mother asked me with her eyes still half closed while pulling a long yawn.

"It's already 10 in the morning and you're both still asleep... I've already prepared breakfast and I've come to wake you both up." I replied as I looked at my mother smiling. That said, inside the room you could clearly hear someone snoring louder and louder, I already knew who was but my mother not, she turned her head to see what was going on.

"What... am I still dreaming? I've never seen him snore like that." My mother said, giggling as she looked at my father in that state with an amused face.

"I think he drank too much last night." I said while turning my head in my father's direction.

"I think you're right, I know how to wake him up, especially after his yesterday's behavior." My mother said with a mischievous look. She came near to my father's face and then she did something I could never expected from her... with one of her wings, she completely covered my father's beak... my father after 10 seconds, he began to wriggle because he could no longer breathe well and he suddenly woke up.

"What is happening?! How come I couldn't breathe?!" My father gasped, panting very quickly as he looked frantically around him.

"Honey, you were snoring and I had no choice but to wake you up in my own way." My mother said with an amused face as she affectionately embraced my father.

"Honey don't do it any more please... you would have also enjoyed it but I was very scared in that moment..." My father replied, still incredulous of what had just happened.

"Yeah... I'm sorry honey, next time I'll wake you up like that." My mother whispered as she kissed my father very passionately.

"I'm very sorry to bother you both but breakfast is ready, if you both don't immediately get downstairs, I'll gladly eat your share of the breakfast that I just made." I said crossing my wings and looking impatiently at my father and mother. My parents, once they heard my voice, immediately separated from their kiss, they got out of their bed and after getting ready, they went downstairs.

"Son, have you prepared all this by yourself?!" My father exclaimed still incredulously to what he was seeing on the table.

"Yes Dad, Jewel revealed a pancake recipe to me and I couldn't wait to try it." I said while I was showing off my creation with my parents.

I saw my parents sitting at the table while they couldn't look away from the plate in front of them, with a fork, my mother cut a small slice of the pancake mixing it together with the whipped cream and a blueberry. "Wow Blu! It's very good!" My mother exclaimed as she ate what I had prepared for breakfast.

"I'm glad you like it mom, let's say that now I've found a way to repay all your effort." I said, flattered by the compliments of my two parents.

"Son, have you already prepared the suitcases since we'll leave tomorrow morning?" My father asked, raising his blue eyes in my direction.

"I still have to start... these days I've been quite busy; I think I'll finish it by tonight." I said suddenly, remembering that I still had to pack my luggage.

"Try to not forget anything important." My mother continued, not surprised at all that I had forgotten something like that, hearing this, I did nothing but a nod to in both of my parent's direction.

Once I had finished breakfast, I got up from my chair and headed back to my room, I lowered myself in front of my bed and pulled out a suitcase that I had previously used for such occasions, once I opened it, I began filling it meticulously with clothes and all the necessary for a five days' holiday. Once I had finished, I noticed that I still had a bit of space left, I quickly thought about how I could fill that empty space when I came up with the idea of bringing my writing material along with me, _'After all, from the mountain landscape I could only get some inspiration for my story'_ I thought to myself, looking forward to starting this holiday.

I was so immersed in my thoughts on how I could organize my days and what I could do that I was frightened by the sudden sound of the doorbell of my house, I was so surprised that I had dropped some books between my wings, I immediately went to rearranging everything that had fallen on the floor, after a short time, I heard my mother calling me from downstairs, _'Who could be looking for me on such a day? Could it be Jewel?'_ I thought as I quickly descended the stairs, hurriedly walked all way across the living room directed to the main entrance of the house, once I reached it, I saw Rebecca in front of my door while she had a very embarrassed look on her face...

"Oh hello, Rebecca! I didn't expect your visit... how can I help you?" I asked as I opened my wings and pointing Rebecca to come inside my house without thinking twice.

"Blu I have to talk to you in private..." She whispered and gave me a very doubtful look, I was quite worried about what my eyes were seeing, I didn't even remember the last time I saw her in this state...

"Ehm... come to my room, we can talk there." I replied very quickly and showing her the way to my room. Rebecca greeted my two parents and then went to my room with me immediately following her, the journey to my room was very embarrassing, usually when I was with Rebecca, we became two talkers who couldn't help but tease each other and so on. But today everything was different, there was a strange atmosphere that surrounded us, I felt very uncomfortable and especially after seeing the behavior of Rebecca as soon as she entered my house. I was very curious to know why she had come to look for me. Once I reached my room, I let Rebecca sat on my bed while I sat on my chair.

"What do you have to ask me Rebecca?" I finally asked, breaking the silence that had been created around us and giving her a truly worried look, fearing the worst.

"I have to talk to you about what happened yesterday..." She answered shyly, lowering her gaze to the floor of my room.

"You mean when I saw you with Alex?" I said, trying to quickly rethink what had happened the day before.

"Yes... I would like some advice from you…" She asked, continuing to divert her gaze from mine, that did nothing but make me worry even more.

"Did Alex hurt you or he broke your heart?" I quickly asked, getting up from my chair and then immediately approaching her.

"No, you misunderstood me Blu, I wanted advice for our relationship..." She said surprised to see this side of me for the first time.

"Why from me...? You know very well that I'm not good with girls..." I said, confused by what she wanted to ask me, I knew very well inside of me that there were many other birds that she knew and were much more experienced than me when it comes to love.

"Maybe you aren't good when it comes to love... but you certainly know how to treat a girl..." She answered, finally looking straight into my eyes with her green iris and smiling at me, I was speechless, she thought all that about me... _'You know how to treat a girl...'_ I thought between of me, I was silent while these words echoed inside my head, that did nothing but make me happy, I sat next to her on my bed to listen carefully to her request.

"I know it's so much... but I'd like you to be Alex's friend and help me to find out more about him..." Rebecca said, finally managing to tell me why she had come to my house that day, needless to say, that her request had taken me by surprise, I never expected that a girl with a personality as strong as she could be afraid to ask and find out more about her boyfriend on her own.

"Wow, Rebecca are you serious or are you kidding me?!" I asked as I tried to understand the reason that had pushed her to ask me a request like that.

"I know Blu that this is a very absurd request... but I would really like to know more about him..." She shyly muttered as she tried not to be too insistent, from her expression I realized that she had thought about it for a long time before introducing herself to me, it wasn't a decision taken without carefully considering whether it was worth it or not.

"Listen to me Rebecca I would advise you to keep this option as your last resort... for now try to get to know him better for example by talking to him more and more often or something like that. A love relationship is based on trust, without it, it will never work, try not to be too insistent on knowing him better. I understand that you cannot wait but try to be patient, he too will surely want to know more about you, take advantage of these holidays to spend more time with him." I said smiling as I got up from my bed to reach my bookshelf full of books, I saw her with a thoughtful expression with the corner of my eyes, she was surely amazed by my answer and was thinking carefully about what she should do.

"... I think you're right, I'll try to know him better then, changing the subject, how did it went yesterday? I saw you walking along with Jewel with many bags in your wings." Rebecca asked as she watched me looking for a book on my bookshelf.

"Yesterday, Jewel and I were in charge of shopping for our family dinner and it went absolutely fine." I said, turning quickly to look at her and smiled in her direction.

"I'm happy for you, Blu, why are you packing your suitcase? Are you leaving?" She said looking at the suitcase that was still on the ground with many of my clothes inside it and some of my writing tools.

"Exactly Rebecca, I'm leaving for a mountain vacation with the family of Jewel, we'll be away for 5 days, just in time to go back to school." I said smiling and pulling out a book from my bookshelf. "Rebecca, your story reminds me very much of a love story I had written years ago, I suppose you've never read this book of mine." I said as I came back to sit on my bed showing her the book I had in my wings.

"In fact, I've never seen this book before... I've just read your most successful books" She replied as she looked at the book in front of her.

"This book is titled 'Living Under The Shadow Of A Stranger', a trivial title in my opinion, at first glance it has nothing special but maybe it's one of the books that comes closest to what I am, to my personality and so on." I said and then turned the book currently between her wings to show the short plot that was written on the back of the book.

"I'll briefly tell you the plot, the story tells of this orphan boy who lived with a bird he was not even related to, he lived in a very small town where everyone knew each other, so far you'll tell me what's special in this story... I don't blame you, but going further you will understand that he was isolated and treated badly by everyone for what his parents had done, parents who he hadn't even had the chance to know." I said, stopping for catch my breath. "It seems one of those usual stories that you read and you often see on TV and you're not wrong but this story has some connection with what you're feeling. I won't reveal other pieces of the plot because if did it, I'll be taking away every surprise that awaits you."

"I trust your choices Blu, now I know how to spend my free time!" She said, thanking me for the gesture I had just made.

"You can keep it as long as you need, I have more copies in my parent's library, if you have any doubt you can always ask me as soon as I get back from my vacation" I said smiling while I putted my last things in my suitcase.

"Thank you, Blu for listening to me... I had to confess to someone and I'm happy that you were that someone... now I have to go, see you as soon as we'll be back at school." She said getting up from my bed and waving her wing towards me.

"You don't have to thank me Rebecca, I'm your friend and I'll always be willing to help you, or I'm your younger brother as you always say." I chuckled. "We'll meet again when I'll be back from vacation then I'll tell you how it went!" I finished and then accompanied her to the door of my house.

Done that, I was once again alone in my room, now I had finished packing and I had everything necessary inside my suitcase... I approached the window looking out again to take a last glimpse at my city, despite being a holiday that will last only five days, I was already starting to miss it, I didn't think about it much more and went back downstairs, looking forward to going back to the snowy mountains.

* * *

Finally, the day had arrived, my father and I had loaded all our luggage in our car, as usual, my father had planned everything in advance... from the seats on the plane and what to do once we get there... "Ok, the plane leaves in 2 hours, to arrive at the airport and to do all the check-in and things like that, it'll take about an hour, we go early to avoid having to run in case we arrive late." My father said, looking around to see if he had forgotten anything.

"Honey, did you bring all our documents and plane tickets?" My mother asked, trying to test my father and his organization.

"Of course it's all her-" My father said, turning immediately and closing his beak. He then quickly touched all his pockets in search of tickets and family's documents.

"As I imagined..." My mother said, pulling a long sigh as she watched my father frantically looking around the house. "John, they're here. When you were sitting on the couch, they fell out of your pocket" My mother said looking at my father with an amused expression as she handed him a folder that my father was desperately looking for.

"Thank you Camilla, why didn't you tell me before?" My father said, looking in amazement at the folder he was looking for and then immediately putted it back inside his pocket.

"I wanted to test you, since you always boast that you are a careful and organized bird, today I had the proof that even you too can make mistakes" My mother said, kissing my father's cheek and then leaving the house.

"I see... all right, everyone in the car because we're leaving!" My father said, taking a last look at the house to make sure he turned off all the lights and carefully locked the door. Once arrived at the airport, I could see many birds that were hurrying to get to their own flights, it wasn't the first time I took the plane but every time I was impressed by the atmosphere that was breathed and felt as soon as you entered.

The check-in went smoothly, once we had shown our tickets and delivered our luggage, I was left alone with my backpack that I would have brought it on the plane with me, after going through several escalators, long corridors while looking for our gate, we were finally arrived in front of the waiting room for our flight. Once seated, I sighed because of all the physical activity that I had just done, only the thought of finally being able to go on vacation, relieved the stress that at the time afflicted me.

After a short time, another 4 birds with cerulean plumage reached us, we greeted them while I had immediately reached Jewel, the wait for our flight with the family of Jewel didn't last long, being able to talk with other birds outside of our family had certainly helped us to lose the perception of time, when we had heard that the boarding of the plane was about to start, we had immediately rushed off to the gate, immediately showing our tickets and documents.

After a long corridor, we were finally inside the plane ready to leave for our destination, I was sitting next to the window seat, next to me I had my father, my mother was sitting with Jewel and her aunt in the three seats at the center while her father was with her mother in the row opposite to ours. I sat on my seat as I fastened the seat belt while admiring the loading of our luggage on our flight outside my window. I was so immersed in my thoughts that when my father had called me, I had ignored him, needless to say that this thing made he worry a lot about my sudden behavior.

"Son, are you okay?" My father asked me as he looked at me with a puzzled look, he rested his wing on my shoulder to get my attention.

"Yes dad, I'm fine, it's just that I'm immersed in my thoughts, I cannot wait to get back on the track." I said smiling at him to try to ease his concern towards me.

"I know you all too well, melancholy, right? I felt the same feeling when I left my parents' house to go to the college." My father said, thinking back to his student background.

"You're never wrong Dad, I feel a bit melancholy in leaving Moose Lake and America to go to a new state unknown to me." I replied, continuing to look out of my window.

"Sometimes in your life, you have to know when to change and move on, staying forever in our comfort zone won't take us anywhere, if I stayed where I lived with my parents, I would never meet your mother and as a result of this, you wouldn't be here with me." My father said, turning his gaze away from me as he looked to my mother's side, receiving a smile from her.

"You're right, I've always been reluctant to change and make drastic decisions in my life." I said as I began to smile towards my father, admiring his speech.

"You are wrong, you are reluctant when you are given the opportunity to choose, your career as a writer, your confession to Jewel, were all quite forced decisions. I and your mother pushed you to become a writer because we saw and still see the enormous potential within you, the same can be said for your confession towards Jewel. Don't you see that you are already beginning to trace your path for your future?" My father said looking at me intensely with his blue sea eyes that at that moment seemed to turn ice because of the seriousness with which he said it.

"You're a really strange bird Dad, maybe that's why I love you so much, the night before you begged me to buy you a Lamborghini and now you're telling me a motivational speech about life." I said giggling for the seriousness with which my father is facing this conversation of ours.

"Nobody is perfect but we must try to be as much as possible, when I am drunk, I feel I can be myself without any responsibility on my shoulders, without any fear of the consequences my actions, it's quite dangerous I admit it but it also serves as a valve of outburst of all the stress that I accumulate every day. In a nutshell, when I'm drunk the repressed part of me comes out. I'm glad you didn't drain my bank account to buy me that car." My father said sarcastically as he was interrupted by the sudden sound of the aircraft's engines turning on. The turbines of the plane's engines began to spin faster and faster, making the whole vehicle tremble.

The plane began to position itself on the track, after a few seconds, everything I saw outside had become only stripes of colors because of the speed with which the plane was moving, suddenly the plane had begun to lift up, it was obvious that it was taking flight. "Goodbye Moose Lake..." I whispered as I looked at the airport one last time as we drove away more and more.

"Come on, don't be so melancholic, we'll be away only for five days" My father giggled as he looked at me with an expression more than amused.

"Of course, now only long hours of boredom are waiting for us while we are confined to our seats..." I said, looking around at me.

"I saw you brought your backpack, I'm sure you brought something with you to spend your time on the plane." My father said pointing towards my backpack I had putted near my seat.

I took my notebook out of my backpack, my father smiled at me as if he expected from me to bring my writing material with me, once I pulled out my pen, I started writing a new chapter of my story, I took a quick glance at my father and saw him watching a movie on the screen in front of him. The hours passed very quickly, I could clearly notice the landscape changing in front of my eyes, from the vast green fields that I had seen before, we had moved to a more mountainous landscape, many mountains jagged the horizon giving a mystical atmosphere to the landscape that surrounded them.

Once landed, I putted back all the material I had brought with me inside my backpack, I had checked several times that I had put everything in. I got up from my seat heading towards the exit. Once I set foot on Canadian soil, I took a long sigh, it was the first time I came to Canada, I couldn't wait to find out more about this state and its birds living there. I gathered together with my parents heading to the immigration control, once out, my father had called two taxis to reach our hotel. It didn't take long, in the distance you could see two black cars quickly approaching us, Jewel had decided to sat on the same vehicle where I was, once loaded our luggage and got on the vehicle, we immediately left in the direction of our new and temporary home. My parents were meanwhile arguing merrily with the driver of the vehicle, asking him what they could do here in Canada except skiing and so on.

"So Blu are happy to spend the holiday with me?" Jewel said, drawing my attention towards her.

"What kind of questions is that? Of course I'm happy, Jewel." I giggled as I held her wing tightly.

"Well, I'll never get tired of asking you that question..." She said fondly while resting her head on my shoulder, after about ten minutes of conversation with Jewel, I noticed that she was slowly falling asleep, she kept blinking faster and faster as she tried to stay awake.

"Don't strain yourself too much, Jewel... if you're sleepy, sleep as well because I won't be offended." I said trying to help her feeling better.

"Thank you Blu, you always say the right thing at the right moment..." She said, resting her head on my shoulder and then slowly closing her turquoise eyes.

"I agree with you Jewel; you can see that he took everything from his mother." My father said turning towards me and giving me a proud look of what I had just said, Jewel was leaning on me while she gave a smile in my father's direction as she had fallen into her deep sleep.

"John, enough with the praises or do you want a punishment for tonight?" My mother countered, giving a mischievous look to my father.

While others continued to discuss what to do, on my left I could admire the landscape of gray snowy mountains, all surrounded by many pines that broke the monotonous landscape all white and gray with a fair mix of dark green, but nothing beats what my eyes could see on my right... the most beautiful creature in the world sleeping with a smile on her beak while she was leaning on me... with my wing, I slowly embraced her tightly to keep her warm. After a while, I took the opportunity to pull out a notebook from my backpack and with a pencil and started sketching the landscape I saw. When I had finished, I began to take notes of my surrounding... _'I could put them in my story'_ I thought as I admired many wooden and stone built houses on the sides of the mountains.

After about half an hour of travel we had finally arrived at our destination, by now it was already quite late, the sun was setting and only tomorrow we could start our adventure on the snow. I have to admit that there were a lot more birds than I could imagine... it was a long time since I came to the mountains and I forgot how many birds came here... Once the driver had stopped in front of our destination, I turned to my right to see Jewel that was still immersed in her dream, I smiled and began to give her little taps to wake her up.

"Jewel? Jewel wake up, we arrived." I whispered to her while I tried to wake her up.

"Mmh ... have we already arrived?" She asked, slowly opening her turquoise eyes as she tried to figure out where we were at that moment.

"Exactly, did you see how many birds are there?" I said as I opened the car door and looked around.

"Well, we came here during the holidays... the period when there is a lot of birds..." Jewel said, pulling a long yawn as she was about to take her luggage.

"You never cease to amaze me Jewel, every time you make such observations I cannot help but admire your wisdom..." I said giggling while I pulled my suitcase out of the car.

"Oh Blu, you embarrass me so much when you talk to me like that, if you like this part of me I'll try to show it more often." She said seductively as she approached me.

"But Jewel... the last thing I want is to change you... I like you as you are..." I said as we approached the other car where her parents were.

"That's why I like you so much Blu" Jewel said kissing me on my cheek and making me blush.

"The same is true for me, you are my rock and my island in a sea of doubts and insecurities in which I desperately swam for all my life, you are my salvation that saved me from what I have created without even knowing it." I said smiling at her as I recovered from the kiss she had just given me. I could see Jewel eyes shining even more after she heard what I just told to her.

"... Many times I think that you do this on purpose to make me cry..." She said and then leaned on my chest as kissed me passionately.

Once we got together with the Jewel family, we headed to our new home for the following five days, the Hotel wasn't one of those you see in the city, it was partly made of wood from what eyes saw, this gives it a very welcoming and familiar appearance and atmosphere. Since it was near the ski slope, it was also very crowded. It was the first time I had entered in a hotel like this... the last time I had come here in the mountains, we had always been in a hotel near the city and to get to the ski slope, we took the car. After all, we were in a new state and going back and forth without a car was quite inconvenient. Once inside, you could immediately see that it was mostly made in wood and stone... on the floor near the reception there was a red carpet and above it, many tables and leather sofas.

"So what do guys think of the hotel so far?" Eduardo asked while we were standing in line for the check-in.

"Dad... it's wonderful! It's the first time I've slept in a hotel made partly of wood and stone! "Jewel said, looking around with a big smile on her face.

"The same is true for me, the last time I came skiing with my parents, we've always been in a hotel in the city... we didn't know there were hotels so close to the ski slope." I said as I turned in the direction of my two parents.

"Oh yes every time I booked a hotel, this kind of hotel never appeared in my suggestions list... but this year I searched very well just to change the mood and atmosphere of this vacation." My father said approaching the receptionist.

"Hello, welcome to the Hotel 'Snow Palace' I suppose you need to check in, am I right?" The receptionist said smiling at us.

"Exactly, we have booked four room." My father said taking out a copy of the reservation of our rooms.

"Yes, I see it from my computer, room 28-34-39-43, here are the keys and room 28 is a single bed room." The receptionist said turning and pulling out four keys for our rooms. Once my father took the keys he turned towards us to organize everything.

"So Mimi, first of all, here is the key to your room, and for the other rooms, how do we do it? Do we give them in no particular order or do you have any ideas? "My father asked handing a key to Jewel's aunt while he was still holding three numbered keys in his wings.

"Since all three are far from each other, it doesn't matter who takes which keys." Jewel's mother said to speed up the process of the keys distribution.

"I agree with Sarah, honey just give the keys without thinking too much." My mother said as she urged my father to hand over the keys to their rooms.

"Guys, since it's already late I'd suggest to get to our rooms and meeting up in one hour here at the reception for dinner, what do you all say?" Jewel's aunt asked as she looked the whole family in front of her.

"Great idea big sister, so we take room 34." Eduardo said taking the key, and then immediately went along with Sarah to the room 34.

"Then we take room 38 and so this means that the room 43 is all yours and please, don't be late!" My father said as he was walking away with my mother in the direction of their room.

"In the end, we were left alone..." Jewel said as we headed towards our room through the many stairs and along long corridors full of doors that faced each other.

"Ehm... y-yes only us two alone in a room..." I said nervously as I thought about the fact that I had to sleep with her, she patted me on the shoulder and smiled at me trying to reassure me and incite me to overcome my doubts and uncertainties.

Once arrived in front of our room I took out the keys of the room from my pocket, _'Usually in hotels they always gave us a badge but I see that here they remained faithful to the tradition'_ I thought to myself giving a quick look at the door lock in front of me and then my gaze fells on the key I had between my wings. I slowly opened the door to create more suspense, I turned to Jewel to see her while she looked at me with a mischievous smile, I didn't have enough time to ask her why she was looking at me in that way as she gave me a strong push, that gesture she had done made us both fell into the room. I caressed my face ready to ask her for explanations of what she had just done when my gaze focused on the environment around us.

The room was... much bigger than I imagined... as soon as you entered you could immediately see the double bed, next to the bed there was a medium sized wardrobe but the thing that struck me most was a large window that faced the mountain landscape, this window also faced the balcony... next to the window there was a desk with two chairs and in front of the bed there was a large TV, at least 40 inches. At the side of the bed, towards the wall there was a sofa suitable for at least three birds with a small table in front of it in case we wanted to put something on it, in the closed room there was a very spacious bathroom. There was a blue carpet spread over the floor near the bed, all this with some paintings hanging on the walls with some truly breathtaking mountain landscape...

"Wow... it's all so... different... we can clearly see that we are in another state!" I said, rising slowly from the ground, continuing to study carefully the positioning of the furniture.

"I agree with what you just said, come on that we still have to sort out our suitcase since in an hour we'll have to be down in the reception for the dinner." Jewel said as she went back to the door of our room and dragged her suitcase inside of it.

"You're right Jewel." I said doing exactly the same thing she had done, I started to pull out some clothes and putted them in the closet. After about ten minutes, we had finished, in the meantime, I had started to admire the landscape from the window of our room... it was so beautiful... I saw very high gray mountains covered with snow on top of them and at the foot of the mountain a thick pine forest _'Definitely a mesmerizing view'_. Suddenly I felt someone touching my shoulder, I turned around and saw Jewel who had put her wing on me while I was admiring the view.

"Do you like this view so much?" She asked me sarcastically as she joined me admiring at the landscape outside the window.

"Yes, but it will never beat what I have at my side, the mountain panorama can be admired by everyone while the panorama I'm talking about... only by myself..." I whispered, wanting to tease her a little before dinner.

"Blu... when you talk like that I cannot resist you..." Jewel replied while affectionately leaning on me.

"Is it a good or bad thing, Jewel?" I asked her after turning back and rested my body on the couch while I waited for the hour to pass.

"More than positive Blu..." Jewel replied with a seductive tone. After 1 hour we were in the reception of the hotel waiting for our parents, once they arrived, a lady at the reception had kindly escorted us to the hotel's dining room. Needless to say, I was once again struck by what I was seeing, it was a large dining room where from time to time you could see stone pillars that went above the ceiling to form arches that spread throughout the room. old-fashioned lightbulbs hung from the ceiling ... it was completely the opposite of the typical dining room of the hotels you could see in the city.

"Wow one things is to see it in a picture, another thing is to see it personally in front of you..." My father said with a really surprised and amazed face as he looked around the dining room.

"I agree with you honey... it looks so... lived, so old fashioned." My mother said, joining my father as we slowly entered the dining room.

"Just beautiful... come on let's sit down since I'm very hungry!" Jewel's aunt said, sitting down at a table. Once the dinner was over, since it was already late, we had returned to our respective rooms.

"Ehm... Jewel, good night and sweet dreams!" I said as I turned my back to her.

"Thank you Blu, good night to you too." She replied as she got closer to me.

"... Jewel we shouldn't be so close to each other; you know it right?" I asked her, slightly frightened by her sudden behavior.

"You said it well, we shouldn't... but I would like to treasure this moment with you Blu... could you embrace me while you sleep?" She asked as she looked at me straight in the eyes, it was stronger than me, when she gave me that kind of look she usually use to convince me, it was so strong that it also made me do absurd thing in the past.

"Jewel, don't you think you're exaggerating a little? We met for less than 4 months... and we are in a relationship for less than 2 months..." I said with a serious look on my face.

"I know it very well, but... every time I'm with you I feel safe... and it's like I've known you for a lifetime... I've always dreamed of being able to sleep one day with the love of my life and I'm sure that bird is you..." She said timidly as she turned her gaze away from mine, she was undoubtedly hurt by my reaction. I didn't know what to say in that moment... Jewel's words struck me straight in my heart... making me feel really guilty about the words I had just told her.

"Jewel ... if this will make you happy then I will do it, but just embracing you, nothing more!" I said, immediately making my premise and establishing my rules before moving on to the facts.

"Thank you Blu... thanks for always being by my side and making my life happy." She whispered smiling at me, said that I approached Jewel and I wrapped her with my wings, being able to sleep with her was a fantastic feeling... obviously it was just a temporary thing but I understood what Jewel meant at that moment... Once we finished these holidays we will be back to our previous lives and who knows when chance like this could happen again... I was so immersed in my thought that I didn't realize that Jewel had fallen asleep in the meantime... _'She's so beautiful when she sleeps... I'm a lucky bird'_ I thought, tomorrow I can finally try skiing after a long pause and maybe give some advice to Jewel... I decided it was useless to reflect that much and that the wisest choice to do was to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, I had been awakened by the blinding light of the sun in my eyes, again... I finally opened my eyes to admire our room lit and warmed by the warmth of the sun's rays, I turned my head to see if she had woken up... I saw she with her head resting on my chest as I embraced her with my wings around her... _'Why was this thing so familiar to me?'_ I chuckled, I tried to get up without waking her and headed for the bathroom to get ready. After about twenty minutes I was ready and willing to wake my angel from her deep sleep when I heard someone knocking on the door.

 _'Who's bothering me at this hour of the morning?'_ I thought to myself slightly irritated by the incessant knocking on the door, I immediately headed for the door. "Is this the treatment towards your customer? Do you think this is the right moment to bother your customers at this time of the morning? Come back later if you want to clean the room!" I said, raising my voice as I approached the door, I opened it and I found myself in front of me, the last bird in the world I wanted to see at that moment...

* * *

 **I have no valid excuse, my only excuse for a delay like that is my lack of motivation, I won't lose myself in a lot of talk and I will tell you that this story had temporarily bored me because as someone else in the reviews mentioned it, it's all too perfect, something is missing, something that pushes you to read, something to give you a valid reason to wait a week for a new chapter.**

 **That's why I made a decision, I made some heavy changes in the future chapters after the holidays in the mountains, don't worry, the ending remains the same (Or maybe not?) but it changes how it is achieved or reached. The dream was my attempt to 'revive and create more action' for my story, I'm not entirely satisfied with it because it seemed to me and still seems a bit 'out of place but I added it anyway.**

 **The fact that I started to read the work of other authors on other fandom has certainly demoralized me a lot and made me realize once again how much I am behind them and how much I can still improve... the next chapter should come out shortly since this part of the story has already been written before, let me know what you think of this chapter and I hope to see you in my next chapter!**

 **~Fenix139**


	10. Frozen Time Part 2

**Blu POV**

* * *

-Frozen Time Part 2

Drops of sweat fell from my forehead while my pupils dilated from fear, from my beak were about to come out other words that could offend the bird in front of me but I managed to seal it very quickly with my two wings. I had in front of me the last bird in the world that I wanted to see at that moment and what's more, I had even screamed at him... Eduardo was in front of my door and had stamped on his face a look of disappointment, how to blame him... definitely, this wasn't the kind of behavior he expected from the boyfriend of his daughter.

"Ehm... good morning sir... how did you sleep last night?" I said giving the most genuine and sincere face that I could do at that moment while I opened the door of the room. He remained impassive and devoid of any form of joy and happiness in his face, every second that passed, it slowly created an aura of mystery and fear of why he was at that moment in front of the door of our room, _'He didn't trust to leave his daughter with me? He was afraid that I could make some stupid things with her?'_ These were the thoughts that tormented my head, I remained silent waiting for his response when I was suddenly interrupted by his deep and serious voice.

"I will try to forget the words that I have just heard." Her father answered not looking away from me. It was clear that he was holding back from responding to me in an unkind and rude way, I could clearly see it on his face, he was desperately trying to hide his enraged expression, camouflaging it with an impassive expression. It was as if there was a battle inside him where the two sides of his personality clashed to prevail against each other.

"I'm very sorry sir, I was careless and I didn't manage to control my anger, it won't happen again, I can assure you." I answered while trying to find forgiveness inside that cold stare of Jewel's father had at that moment, I saw his expression slowly change, _'He is slowly calming down'_ I thought.

"I understand it's still early morning but you also need to know how to contain your anger, especially if you don't know who is in front of you." Jewel's father said looking in my direction. "I came to see you because I wanted to see how my daughter was doing." Jewel's father added as he entered our room. He looked quickly around him as if he were a policeman inside a criminal's house while looking for some evidence to incriminate him.

"Your daughter is currently still sleeping on the bed, before you knocked on the door, I was just going to wake her up... do you want to see her with your own eyes?" I asked as I joined him in his search for his daughter. Once we reached the room where Jewel slept, I noticed that in the meantime, she had occupied the entire double bed... she was practically lying horizontally covering both sides where one could sleep.

"Ehm, how did you sleep with her occupying the whole bed?" Her father asked as he stared with a puzzled expression at the pose his daughter was assuming at the time.

"This morning, when I woke up she was still on her side of the bed... I think that when I got up, she took the liberty of occupying the whole bed for herself..." I replied as I tried to keep myself from laughing at what I had before my eyes.

"Like mother like daughter... even her mother many times in the middle of the night, she takes the liberty of occupying the whole bed or the blankets, sometimes it happens that I want to go back to sleep on the single bed." Jewel's father murmured.

"I see, so you would like to sleep alone? If I bothered you, then you could just tell me, dear." A voice said behind the two of us, I saw Eduardo's expression paling as he slowly turned to the source of the voice, once Eduardo and I turned, we found ourselves in front of Sarah.

"Sarah... what are you doing here?!" Jewel's father asked with a surprised face seeing his wife in their daughter's room.

"I could ask you the same thing." Jewel's mother replied, decidedly irritated by her husband's behavior.

"I came to see how our daughter was doing..." Jewel's father said trying to justify himself for what he had just done.

Sarah, after hearing her husband's words, she rolled her eyes. "You have to relax, remember that this is a holiday, we came here to have fun, enjoy ourselves and free ourselves from everyday stress." Jewel's mother said.

"Yes... you're right but try to understand that I'm worried about our daughter... it's not that I don't trust Blu." Eduardo replied, forming a forced smile in my direction and his wife, it was clear that he had come because he didn't trust me... but this didn't bother me so much, I certainly didn't expect to gain his trust in such a short time, after all, Jewel had warned me that her father was a tough guy.

"Honey, you're a very bad liar... I know very well what you meant and I think that even Blu understood it, right?" Sarah asked as she looked in my direction and as soon as our eyes came in contact, I nodded with my head and then received a smile from her. "I'm going back to our room, as soon as you finish what you have to do, you know where to find me."

After she left, Eduardo took a long sigh and then approached her daughter. "Jewel, Jewel wake up, it's already morning..." Eduardo whispered in his daughter's ears and then slowly shaken his daughter wing to wake her up.

"Mmh..." Jewel murmured as she stretched on the bed. "Dad, what are you doing here?" Jewel asked as she slowly opened her turquoise eyes and immediately distinguished her father's face.

"I came to see if everything was all right, now get up that we have to go and have breakfast." Jewel's father replied as he helped his daughter get out of bed. Once the breakfast was over, we were all ready for the day ahead, we still had to get our ski wear, so we immediately headed for the ski clothing store that was near the ski slope. Leaving the hotel, you could already see a large crowd of birds, they were all ready to go skiing and the same was true for us. Once bought the necessary and reached the chairlift, we had rented the necessary tools, while everyone else had taken the skis, only me and my father had chosen the snowboards.

"Blu are you sure you want the snowboard?" Jewel asked as she watched me holding a snowboard between my wings.

"Of course, I've already tried many times with my father and to be honest, I'm pretty good too." I giggled as I tried to reassure her about what I was about to do. "Jewel what about you? Do you know how to go on skis?" I asked while we were standing in line to take the chairlift.

"To tell the truth, no... but I think it isn't difficult, right?" She asked doubtfully as she watched some skiers descending at a very high speed down the snowy mountains.

"Well it changes from bird to bird... but if you have any problem know that I will always be ready to help you in case of need. After all, you can skate, although they are two completely different things, they have one thing in common, you must learn to stay in balance." I said, smiling as I studied carefully the path that the other skiers took. Once we were sitting on the chairlift that would take us up the mountain, I couldn't take my eyes off the snowy landscape I had in front of me, even though in Minnesota it snowed a lot, nothing beats the snowy mountain landscape... being suspended in the air at the side of a mountain and surrounded by tall pines that marked the edge of the ski slope, it was a sensation that awakened almost forgotten memories of my past.

"Wow dear, did you see how beautiful it is?" I heard my mother's voice sitting on the chairlift behind us.

"Yes, you're right... it's really amazing..." My father answered slowly as he looked around him. Once we got to the top, Jewel and her family had headed to the beginners' slope while my family and I went to the experts' one, the beginners' slope, as the name already says, was a really simple track with no single obstacle and was almost completely straight, while on the other hand, the expert track was full of flags, ramps for acrobatics and curve. In a nutshell, it was like a minefield, full of obstacles who are just waiting for the bravest bird to challenge it.

While I was getting ready to go down the mountain, a gust of wind had blown against me, it had initially caused me shivers and after my body had become accustomed to the harsh climate that surrounded me, I felt that something had changed inside me... the combination of snow and cold had awakened a sleeping part inside me... _'The nature is calling me'_ I thought to myself smiling. I attached the snowboard to my boots, took a long sigh and prepared to go down to the valley. The chairlift was positioned between the experts and the beginners track so, if you were waiting to get to the top of the mountains, you could in the meantime watch the other birds perform acrobatics and then inspire yourself and create a sense of competition among skiers.

"Are you ready, son? Are you ready to overtake me or will you always be a bird destined for the second place?" My father asked, smiling mischievously as he joined me.

"Are you going to compete against me?" I answered smiling as I wore my goggles ready to face all the obstacles in front of my path.

"I remind you that I am still your teacher and therefore you must have more respect for me." My father said, giggling as he looked at my mother who had failed to restrain herself and had already thrown herself off to the valley.

"I admit that I still have a lot to learn from you, dad, but that doesn't mean that I will lose without giving you a proper challenge!" I replied, not realizing that my father wasn't listening to me at that moment.

"Darling, be careful!" My father shouted and then he rushed towards my mother's direction.

"And our race?" I asked aloud among myself as I saw my father move away from me more and more. I pulled a long sigh of disappointment that I had just missed the opportunity to challenge my father, I lost no more time and threw myself off to the valley.

* * *

 **Jewel POV**

I had just finished the whole mountain downhill for the first time in my life, obviously with the help of my father and my mother. We were sitting on the chairlift waiting to return to the top and try again the exhilaration of the wind that blowing against you. The experts' track was really interesting to watch, although there were few birds that had the courage to face it, those who were there were all very agile and fast, but only one managed to catch my attention, that goggles... that snowboard... there was no doubt, it was Blu...

"Mom, Dad look, it's Blu! And he's coming down from the mountain!" I said, pointing with the tip of my wing in the direction of Blu. My parents immediately turned to the direction in which I had pointed and we saw to a side of Blu that we didn't know he had. Blu threw himself down at an incredible speed and began to slalom between the various obstacles that were in the middle of the track, once he was in front of a series of 10 flags, began to make tight turns to lose the least time and speed possible. He managed in an incredible way to curve with such simplicity and effortlessly every obstacle that was in front of him.

During his journey to the valley, he continued to perform in increasingly bizarre acrobatics, from turning around with the board with great dexterity to change direction in a few seconds... _'It's amazing how things turned upside down in a few days, we're in the exact opposite situation from when we were at the skating rink...'_ I thought to myself as I couldn't look away. In the meantime, he had managed to catch the attention of everyone on the chairlift, including many of the expert track... lots of birds were watching Blu at that moment and even some girls who had begun to fantasize about him... I tried to stay calm and ignore their comments on how cool and beautiful Blu was...

Luckily nothing bad happened and Blu ended the track with a series of applause from all sides, both from the birds in the expert track and from the chairlift. In short, a new idol was born that day... once he arrived at the valley, he was welcomed by a crowd of birds ready to ask for explanations about what he had just done and there was also present even a crowd of girls who had literally surrounded him... I was dying of jealousy... _'How could they get so close to my boyfriend without my permission?'_ I thought to myself as I watched them.

"Wow... Blu is really good with the snowboard... I'm really curious about why he never said it to us..." My father said as he looked at Blu down into the valley surrounded by a crowd of birds.

"Even I was very impressed by what he did... he could easily compete at a competitive level..." My mother added.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

To say that I was satisfied wasn't enough... I didn't feel such emotions for too long, I never felt so alive... Once arrived at the bottom of the valley, I was greeted by a crowd of my new admirers who had immediately bombarded me with questions and advice on how to become like me... fortunately my parents arrived in time and helped me out of the crowd that was literally choking me. When I got back to the chairlift, I also received compliments from the staff of the ski slope, they even asked me if I was interested in participating in some races but I had politely declined the offer because for now, I had other objectives in my head.

"Not bad," My father said as he had just joined me with my mother. "There is still room for improvement, but I'm glad you did not lose your touch." My father added, giving me one of his classic smiles as he patted me on the shoulder.

"Son, you literally made the whole expert track looks as if they were amateurs but next time try to not overdo it, I know that many of the acrobatics you've performed today is the result of a lot of work and sacrifice... but your safety comes before anything else." My mother said. I smiled at the compliments of my two parents, we went back on the chairlift ready to go back up the mountain and repeat that adrenaline rush I had as soon as I had thrown myself off the mountain.

* * *

 **John POV**

It was a long time since I saw my son with such a happy expression, so happy to be himself and not afraid of the opinions of other birds. He reminds a lot of me as a child... afraid of what others thought about me, afraid of disappointing my parents, afraid of being a burden for my entire family...

* * *

 **Flashback John's past**

After a long day at school, I was on my way home, the sky was gloomy and that only means that a storm was coming, I quickened my pace and began to run as fast as I could. As soon as I crossed the intersection, I could see the shape of my house in the distance. Once arrived at the door, opened it and found my father sitting on the sofa while he was reading the newspaper, I was about to greet him when he suddenly spoke to me, catching me by surprise.

"John, how did today's test go?" My father asked me as soon as I was back from school.

"How did you know that today I had a test?" I asked, amazed at the fact that my father knew all about what I was doing at school.

"I have my sources and now answer my questions without avoiding it." My father said without changing his authoritative tone and not turning his gaze away from the newspaper in front of him.

"Dad... I tried to do my best, I spent most of the week behind the school's textbooks but I guess it wasn't enough..." I said, lowering my head since I was afraid to look at my father in the face. I pulled out from my backpack the test sheet that was at that moment was stained by the red ink because of the many corrections that my teacher had made, I slowly went to my father who, after hearing my words, his expression had worsened as if he expected much more from me.

My father looked carefully at my test, his expression was impassive, he read carefully at what I had written and all the corrections of my teacher made. Once he had finished inspecting that piece of paper between his wings, he turned to my side as he gave the sheet back to me. "At least you realized that you didn't put enough effort, if you continue like this, I don't know what to do with you, you are my biggest disappointment." My father answered, returning his attention to the newspaper next to him.

I tried to hold back my tears, the words of my father literally pierced me straight to my heart, leaving a gash that wouldn't easily healed, in fact I was afraid that the gash will remain forever open... the only way to sew it up would be to receive all the affection that my father had never succeeded or wanted to give me...

I went to my room without saying anything, although his words had hurt me, after all, he was right but was it really necessary to use such words? Was it really necessary to say that I was a disappointment in front of me when I realized my mistakes? Sometimes my father could just be so insensitive and so heartless... very few times he had given me some satisfaction, some compliment, some happy memories to treasure. _'Why does he behave like that? Why is he always so close to me physically but so distant with his feelings...?'_ I thought as I was about to climb the stairs towards my room when I was suddenly stopped by someone, two cerulean wings wrapped around me and gently embraced me while I was trying to reach my room to try to forget another bad memory that had been created by my father.

"John... I heard your conversation with your father, don't be so dejected, your father is a particular bird... but you already know that, don't you?" My mother asked quietly without saying it too loudly to not attract the attention of my father.

"I'm no longer surprised by his reaction but his words always manage to amaze me and hurt me even more than the day before... I think it's because that I love him too much..." I said as I turned in the direction of my mother. "Why does he behave like that? Why is he so harsh with me? I don't understand... many times it seems that he doesn't care about how I feel and not even how much his words can hurt me..." I confessed to her, keeping my gaze down, my mother was the only one who could console me... the only one who could understand me, without her, I would be lost.

"John... listen carefully to my words, your father had a difficult childhood, he never had the chance to meet his father because he had abandoned him before he was born and therefore he never had a father figure in his life... I'm not absolutely justifying his behavior towards you but I just want you to try to understand him..." My mother said as she tried to wipe away the tears that were coming down from my face.

"Is this the reason that I never met my grandpa? Is that why Dad gets angry every time I mention him?" I asked my mother, surprised to know this side of my father that was unknown till now.

"That's right, he doesn't want to let you know but he's still hurt, your grandfather as soon as he found out that your grandmother was pregnant, he took all his things and left without saying a word, needless to say, that as soon as your father discovered that, he got very angry..." My mother said, lowering herself to look at me at the same level of gaze.

"Your father has a strange way to show affection, it will seem to you insensitive but he is the one who gives the most for the family, without his efforts at this time we will be doomed, he spends many hours of the day in the library to be able to bring food on our table etc... he cares for us, especially to you, John..." My mother said, smiling slowly, not turning her eyes away from mine.

"How can you say that he cares about me?! He treats me as if he didn't care about all my efforts, I've never stopped trying to satisfy him, to make him proud of me, but all my attempts have been in vain." I said, raising my voice slightly, more than amazed by the words of my mother.

"Shh, lower your voice, John." My mother whispered pointing in my father's direction, I nodded and she started talking again. "You're wrong when you say that he doesn't care about you, my silly son." My mother said, chuckling at my naivety that I was demonstrating at the moment.

"What do you mean by that, mom?" I asked, more and more confused about where she wanted to get at that moment.

"A bird that doesn't care about you would waste his time checking your grades? Would he waste your time checking your homework? Would he waste his time checking your room, how do you dress up and what you eat? You are still very naive and I am aware that your father and I have two completely different ways of showing affection to you but that doesn't have to affect you... just know that we both love you and we just want you to have a happy life, a life without any regrets." My mother said, pointing me out to join her in the kitchen to sit down and not staying up for all our conversation that was supposed to be a short one but it turned out to be a long conversation between mother and son.

"I still don't understand why my father treats me like this... what does it cost me to give me some encouragement rather than criticism?" I asked, lowering my eyes as I sat down in my chair.

"Our past has a huge influence on us, but it is up to us to decide how much weight to give it, how much it can affect our present..." My mother said and then comes in my direction, with her two wings, she gently raised my head and consequently, my gaze met her. There was a moment of silence, I was at that moment taken by surprise by my mother's words, I had forgotten that I wasn't alone and that I still had someone who cared about me, some who love me...

"Your father treats you like that because he thinks by doing that way, somehow he could manage to spur you... don't give up my son, take it as a personal challenge, change him, change your father's mentality, show him how much you are worth and how much he is wrong about you. I'll be with you when you need it, but you have to do it yourself, I'm sure you will succeed." My mother added and then smiling at me with one of her smiles that warms your soul. I hugged my mother, then smiled with the best smile I could do.

"Thank you, mom, for giving me some information about Dad's past, but one thing is certain, I won't make his own mistakes and I won't be absolutely conditioned by the past." I replied once my mother released me from her hug.

* * *

 **Flashback end**

"Dear, are you okay?" My wife asked softly with a worried expression as she tried to get my attention. As soon as I heard my wife's voice, I quickly shook my head to return to the present.

"Yes, I'm fine... what do you have to tell me?" I answered, turning immediately in her direction to reassure her.

"I see you're always in the clouds, John." My wife said, giggling. "Why did you do it?" She asked, placing her wing on my shoulder.

"Do what? What did I do wrong? I don't understand where you want to get, Camilla..." I replied, very confused by these questions that I was asked by a bird who should know me better than anyone else.

"You know very well what I'm talking about, why did you hold back? I know what you're capable of but it's the first time I see you put yourself in the background and let our son shine, usually you like to beat him and encourage him to improve." My wife said giving me an intrigued look as she held my wing affectionately.

"Do you think I'm too harsh on him?" I asked very surprised to know this from my soul mate.

"Well, maybe I exaggerated a little bit with my words but what I want to ask you is another thing, the last times we came to the mountains you really liked to destroy his expectations and hopes with some of your best acrobatics... it's as if you held on purpose to give him more confidence and self-esteem..." My wife said not turning her eyes away from mine.

"So you noticed it... was it so obvious?" I giggled as I looked at my son seated on the chairlift in front of the two of us. "I did it for a specific reason..." I added as my gaze returned to my wife.

"For what reason? Come on, don't be so mysterious to me." My wife asked, more and more intrigued by my words.

"Well it's simple, I did it to not make the same mistakes I had made and who before me had done." I replied very simply as I looked around to see if I could locate Jewel's family.

"Why are you talking like this? What kind of mistake are you talking about?" My wife asked, slightly irritated by the fact that I kept on circling around her question without answering them.

"You never noticed it?" I said, pulling a long sigh and turning back to my wife to see her expression.

"What should I notice? I asked you a question and you must stop answering me with other questions!" My wife said with a more than irritated expression printed on her angelic face.

"Have you ever noticed that when we come to ski, our son is more concerned about being better than me, overshadowing the fun and the real reason why we came to ski?" I answered with a serious look towards my wife. "Many times, I think that he accumulates more stress coming here in the mountains than being at home, although I have told him several times that he must have fun and he'll only get better with time and training, he has always been a stubborn and very competitive guy... this is one of the main reasons why I've always been very reluctant to come back to the mountains." I added.

"I noticed that he took too seriously the fact of becoming the best snowboarder in the family but I didn't know that you kept everything inside of you John... but you still haven't told me why you did it now and not before." My wife asked while we were suspended at the highest point of the mountain.

"Because he grew up, because now he's not alone anymore, and then... he finally found a reason to live, just like I found you, Camilla." I said as I looked at my wife straight in her eyes. "I would like to create as many happy memories as I can for him, memories to be proud of, memories that one day he will replicate with his own children... as for why I did it now and not before... it's because I'm stupid... I made myself a promise as a child and that promise is to don't repeat the old mistakes of my father but it's clear that although I am very committed to being better than him. After all, I was behaving exactly like him." I added while I was looking at the whole panorama of the valley. The voices and the cries of the birds who were having fun... they brought me back to when I was little when I came here in the mountains with my parents...

"Don't be so hard on yourself John, you have done an excellent job with our son, you are a fantastic father and husband, the best I could ever wish for, you have by far exceeded the expectations that I had when I was just a kid of my ideal husband." She answered after listening to my speech with great interest.

"I'm speechless, Camilla... the same thing I can say for you, we won't be perfect but I sincerely hope that we were excellent parents to our son and maybe in the future... the best grandparents in the world..." I giggled just at the thought of becoming a grandfather and of seeing my grandchildren come to the world.

"You will never change John, you already think of the two of us becoming grandparents... you will be the best grandfather in the world because you always think of others before yourself... this is one of those qualities that few have, many are good only with the words but you showed me with the facts that what you say, you do it." My wife said as she approached me. "How will my life be without you?" My wife asked, smiling as she affectionately rested her head on my chest.

"A monotonous and sad life?" I replied giggling as I hugged her with the sun behind us, casting our shadows on the vast mountain valley.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

The night was approaching, the sun was setting while making the snow under my snowboard shine even more, the slopes were slowly emptying making the silence fall on the track that was full of life just an hour ago. I made my last lap and then reached my family which was already at the bottom of the valley. Needless to say, at the end of the day I had become a sort of celebrity on the ski slope, I never expected that such a thing could happen, also because I was well aware that with my father next to me, I would always be in the second place, I didn't mind this thing, rather it motivated me every day to push beyond my limits to reach him and then to overcome him.

We were in the dining room for dinner, judging from the face of the family of Jewel, I had immediately understood that they had many questions to ask me, I sighed as I finished the dessert that I had in front of me. As usual, the room was crowded, the waiters ran from side to side depending on the needs of the customers, all of this with a slight chatter in the background. I could distinguish numerous voices in the background, from the voices of the children along with their parents, to the voices of young couples and groups of friends; strangely I hadn't seen any old birds, maybe coming to the mountains after reaching a certain age was something out of the question.

I returned my attention to our table, my father and mother chatted and giggled while they exchanged their desserts, _'They are acting like a newly married couple'_ I thought to myself chuckling. instead, Jewel's parents cheerfully chatted about their experience in the mountains while Jewel spent her time with her aunt. Once I had finished my dessert, I suddenly heard someone call me, I immediately looked up to see that it was Jewel's father.

"Blu, you never told us you were so good with the snowboard." Jewel's father said while he had just placed his cutlery on the table and lifted his gaze in my direction.

"I agree with my brother... why didn't you ever tell us?" Mimi asked me, joining his younger brother as she waited anxiously for my answer.

"Well, I hadn't been skiing for a long time and I thought I had already forgotten everything... and then, a bird among us is better than me..." I replied as I turned in the direction of my father smiling at him. Suddenly the entire attention of the two families had concentrated in the direction in which I was smiling. I saw a forced smile on my father's face, he was definitely embarrassed especially now that I had just revealed his secret to Jewel's family.

"John, you go on the snowboard better than your son?" Jewel's mother asked, intrigued by what she had just discovered.

"Not to brag, I practiced snowboarding at a competitive level during my teenage years but after I started college and met a really special girl who eventually became my wife, I had to stop for obvious reasons." My father replied, trying to shake off all the anxiety and embarrassment that he had accumulated.

While my parents and the Jewel family had just started a talk about their youth and their adventures, I had completely forgotten that Jewel had been very quiet, I turned in her direction and was immediately greeted by a mischievous smile. She then got near me and whispered something in my ears.

"We have a lot to discuss today, my little exhibitionist..." Jewel whispered as she gave me a quick look and then resumed finishing her dessert. At her words, a shiver went down my spine, a thousand thoughts passed through my head but I couldn't understand what I had done wrong... but one thing was certain, that night we had much to discuss. After dinner we were back in our respective rooms, I was still worried by the words of Jewel... _'Surely it had to do with what I did today... knowing her, she should repeat exactly what my mother had told me.'_ I thought to myself.

"And here we are... Jewel, what do you have to tell me?" I asked nervously as I watched her close the door with a thud that echoed across the room, I gulped nervously as I saw her slowly turning in my direction and looking straight at me with her turquoise eyes, something inside me said that she was hiding something under that angelic face printed on her.

She slowly approached to me and then began to slowly circle around me, it was as if she had become a predator who carefully studied the movements and weak points of the prey to inflict a mortal blow and finish the fight even before the opponent could have the time to react. "Where is the confidence you had when you threw yourself off the mountain?" She asked as she placed one of her wings on my shoulder and slowly sliding it down to my tail causing me shivers.

"I-I'm exactly the same bird that jumped down of the mountain, the only difference is that now I'm thinking with my brain while when I was on the snowboard I was dragged by my survival instinct... after all I had to come back safe and sound to you, right?" I answered, joking around.

"I see..." She said with a sigh and then returned in front of me and opening her beak to formulate other words. "I must admit that you were really handsome when you were juggling the various obstacles on your snowboard... you weren't wrong when you told me that you had many aces up your sleeve."

I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as I heard his words. "T-thank you... hearing those words from you makes me very happy..." I replied smiling at her and then opening the window of our room connected to the balcony.

I heard footsteps behind me but I didn't turn my head, there was only one other bird besides me in the room, so I didn't need to see who it was. "Blu, can you promise me something?" Jewel asked from behind me as she joined me in admiring the night view of the mountain from our balcony.

That question caught me by surprise. "What kind of promise?" I asked, slightly confused by this flood of questions she was asking me at the time.

"Can you promise me that you will always stay by my side and that you'll never abandon me?" She whispered slowly as she looked at me straight in my eyes.

"Of course Jewel, you'll always remain my one and only woman that I will ever love, why are you asking me something like that?" I replied slightly tilting my head, still very confused about where she wanted to get with all these questions.

"Because I'm jealous Blu... when I saw that crowd of girls around you, I felt extremely jealous..." Jewel confessed as she turned her gaze away from mine.

"I see... I felt exactly the same when I saw most of the school's student courting you... but the fact that you felt jealousy means that you really care about me... not that I had any doubt!" I joked trying to dampen the atmosphere that had been created around us.

"You're not wrong, it's just that... I never thought to find myself one day on the other side, I never imagined falling in love so madly of a bird and feel jealousy even for such nonsense..." She said as she didn't turn her gaze away from the horizon where one could see a greenish light in the sky. "Blu... isn't that..."

"The Northern Lights... I didn't think I could see one right now... but we are in Canada, we are to the limit to be able to assist one and moreover, since we are far from the city, there is no other source of light to hinder a show like that..." I answered as I pulled out my phone to capture a show like that.

The sky at that moment was as if it had become a painting, initially it was a starry night but suddenly a painter painted on it with the technique of watercolor a green veil on the entire horizon. That veil of green light that covered the horizon momentarily, gave it a mystical atmosphere to the whole landscape below, it was a sight that left you literally breathless. We admired the show for its entire duration, not wanting to lose even a single moment of it.

"Isn't it magnificent Jewel? It's one of those shows that you can only see in certain places and in specific moments of the year..." I said, not looking away from what I had in front of me.

"It's even better because you're there by my side, happiness must be shared to be fully enjoyed and I found that someone to share it with..." Jewel answered, as soon as I heard those words, I was really impressed, so much that I felt the urge to look her in the face, I turned to her and was greeted by her dazzling smile.

"Hey! Those words belong to one of my books! "I said giggling as I immediately recognized the quote from where she had taken it.

"Blu, this sentence isn't yours! It's a famous phrase that you hear very often, nobody has the right to say that he created it!" She replied, laughing as she looked at me straight in my eyes.

"I know, but I like to think you took it from one of my books... knowing that you share my same ideas and ways of thinking only makes me happier." I said as I embraced her, we continued to watch mystical spectacle up there in the sky. Once finished, we realized that it was already late and that it was better if we returned to our bed to enjoy a little 'healthy rest after a tiring day. Every moment I spent with her was magical, even though we spent a lot of time together, it was now clear that we had created a bond that united us, every time we were away from each other I felt melancholy... I never thought that she was my soul mate...

* * *

The next morning, I had decided to help Jewel personally to ski and so I offered myself as her personal coach, needless to say, that Jewel was more than enthusiastic about having me as a teacher and was very impatient to start. Once out of the hotel, a crowd of snowboarders immediately recognized me and immediately tried to catch my attention. "Guys, it's him!" One of them shouted and then indicated with one of his wings in my direction.

"You're right it's him!" A boy next to him said while he carefully studied my outfit and face. I tried to ignore them also because today I had other things to do, my family understood immediately and we acted accordingly, we sped up our pace trying to sow the crowd of birds behind us. _'Now I really understood what the famous birds feel when people become insistent and intrude into their personal affairs...'_ I thought to myself as I was no longer walking but running.

"Wait a moment! Teach us how you became so good with the snowboard!" A voice inside the crowd shouted in my direction, starting to chase me. "Do you want to join my team that will participate in a competition next week?" Another voice said as he tried to stop me. I didn't stop, I didn't like to ignore the other birds but this time I had a valid reason to do so. Once I reached the chairlift, I took a long sigh of relief, behind me I could no longer see the crowd that was chasing me just a moment ago.

"From a perfect stranger, you have become a star of the ski slope, son..." My father said, giggling as he watched me gasp for the run I had just made.

"Don't worry, son, I'm sure tomorrow they'll have already forgotten about you." My mother said trying to reassure me and make me feel more comfortable.

"Maybe you're right... today I'll try to be more discrete and then I have to infiltrate between the beginners to teach Jewel how to improve her skills." I replied, chuckling only at the thought of seeing Jewel awkwardly skiing on the snow. I said goodbye to my parents who in the meantime went to the expert track while I and Jewel headed towards the beginners' one.

Once I got in front of the track, I was quite disappointed by what my eyes were seeing, the path was almost free of obstacles... the only obstacles were the birds themselves that were in the middle of the track, _'It's called a beginner's track for a reason...'_ I thought to myself as I stretched out to prepare my lesson.

"So Jewel, it's all about balance, if you can keep your balance which means when you lean forward, when you lean backward with your body etc... you've already done most of the work." I said, moving my body forward and backward to give a practical demonstration of what I was saying.

After two hours, I could already see that Jewel was getting more and more confident in her abilities. Everything was going well, we were on one side of the track near the edge where there were a few birds, while Jewel took confidence, I was behind her, ready to intervene in case something went wrong. Suddenly, two birds came out of nowhere, cutting Jewel's road and consequently making her fell, I watched with horror at this scene as I accelerated to reach her as soon as possible.

"Jewel are you okay?" I asked as soon as I reached her, with a wing I helped her get back on her feet and my eyes immediately focused on two birds that had cut her way.

"I'm fine, judging by the speed with which they went and the way they skied, they aren't beginners but they are here and not in the other track." Jewel said while she had joined me, staring the two birds that had stopped not far from us.

"I must have a chat with those two birds." I whispered to her and then set off again, heading in the direction of the birds I had seen earlier.

"Blu! Wait a moment! It isn't worth it." Jewel said as she followed me immediately behind me. I didn't listen to her and went straight in their direction, once I had approached enough, I heard them laughing, this only made the anger that was inside of me grow.

"Do you guys think it's appropriate to go at that speed and cut the road of other birds in the beginners' track?" I asked, giving a glare in the direction of the two birds in front of me. They were two Scarlet Macaws younger than me, they would have had at least fifteen years judging by their physical appearance.

"And who are you to tell us what we can do and what not?" He asked with a clear tone of sarcasm while he didn't stop laughing.

"Do you have any problem with us?" The other Macaw asked, he slightly taller than the friend he had next to him.

"Of course, I have problems with you two, you've just cut the road to my girlfriend and you haven't even bothered to apologize." I replied, trying to stay calm.

"Blu, enough! It's not worth wasting your time with them." Jewel said as soon as she reached me.

"Jewel, please leave it to me." I said as I turned in her direction, smiling at her.

"What are you going to do? Are you going to fight? You alone against the two of us? "Asked the taller Scarlet Macaw in a very arrogant tone.

"All I need is that you both say that you're sorry and go away from beginners' track because it's clear that you two aren't beginners." I replied calmly as I refrained myself from adding other adjectives to give more emphasis to my answer but by doing that, I could've offended them.

"I don't see why we'll have to listen to you, we don't owe you any apologies, you should've just avoided getting in our way." The smaller Scarlet Macaw said looking at me straight in the eyes wanting to challenge me. We stared for a few seconds without looking away from each other, we could continue for other seconds if it weren't for Jewel who had literally dragged me away from the two Macaws.

"Blu... as I already told you, it's not worth it, you're better than them and you don't have to do any brave deed to show your affection towards me." Jewel whispered as she pushed me away from those two.

I was about to reply to her sentence when a snowball came in our direction, we were lucky that it missed us, we turned around but another immediately came, this time wasn't addressed to me but to Jewel, I didn't have time to react that it hit her in the face. I heard the two macaws laughing out loud while they boasted that they had hit my girlfriend right in the middle of her face. Besides, I had heard them bragging about their aim with some really unpleasant comments about Jewel that I just want to forget about, that was the last straw, I was filled with rage, so much that it blurred my vision and lost control of my body.

I approached with a very menacing step in the direction of those two Macaws not looking away from their two faces, if I could look myself in the mirror, I could definitely see the fire burning incessantly in my eyes, a fire that burned thanks to all the anger I was having at that moment, my wings quivered with the desire to hit them as hard as I could while my head was focused on two simple objectives, revenge and justice. They had stopped laughing in the meantime to look at me with curiosity, neither of them was prepared for what I was going to do at that moment, _'The scum should be treated as such, without a good lesson, they will never stop behaving in this way, some birds don't deserve a second chance because they will make the same mistake until they are taught the lesson.'_ , this was my thought at that moment, to each of their actions, corresponds to a consequence and their consequence was pain and suffering.

Once I got in front of the two of them, I stretched my wing towards the taller Macaw, I had targeted him because being the older of the two, he had failed to be an example to his friend who was next to him, also, he was the one who had hit Jewel in her face, I grabbed his jacket and pulled him toward me. I saw him moving his beak, mumbling something but I was too blinded by anger to listen to him so I ignored him. With my other wing, I was ready to hit him when a male voice interrupted what I was about to do.

"Stop right there, Blu!" The voice screamed, I felt it was getting closer and closer to me. I was suddenly frozen in place, that voice... that voice was more than familiar, so much that it has blocked my whole body just hearing it. I turned slowly to find myself in front of the model bird of my life, my father was currently in front of me while he looked at me with an expression of disappointment, I let the Scarlet Macaw go but not before throwing him a last intimidating glare, I heard him gulping nervously as he fell to the ground and then he started running as fast as he could with his friend.

"What were you going to do, Blu?" My father asked, looking straight at me with his blue eyes, it was a cold and intimidating stare at the same time, very few times in my life I had the opportunity to receive such a look from him.

"I was going to give a lesson to those two Macaws, they cut Jewel's road and they even had the courage to hit her in the face with a snowball even though we were going to leave them alone." I replied, not looking away from my father, I saw my mother behind my father but she remained silent while she was witnessing my discussion with him.

"Have you seen that they are teenagers, have you any idea of the consequences you could have had if you only land one of your wings on them? What's more, we're in Canada and not in the United States of America, if you go to jail, you won't be home so soon and you'll always have this stain printed on your criminal record." My father said. "Was it really worth it? Ruin your life for a simple fight? Why don't you think before acting Blu?!" My father said raising his voice to give more emphasis to his speech.

"Are you telling me that if the same thing happened to the mom, you wouldn't have protected her from those two macaws?!" I replied not completely agreeing with what my father had just told me.

"Don't turn my words against me, I didn't raise you to be a violent bird that uses force instead of trying to reason." My father said raising his voice again to try to overtake mine. I was silent, it was useless to argue with him now, my father was innocent and I had no intention of arguing with him, I turned and walked away from the group to avoid saying things that I would later regret, I definitely need to calm down.

* * *

 **John POV**

I saw my son getting away from me without saying anything, I was going to call him back when I was stopped by my wife, I looked at her face to see her shaking her head, it was clear what she wanted to tell me at that moment. "Leave him alone for a moment, John, give him time to calm down." My wife said as she let me go from her grip.

"It's the first time he has opposed to one of my decision, such a thing never happened before..." I said as I looked at the silhouette of my son who was moving further and further away from the group.

"John, you're right when you said that violence wasn't the wisest thing to do right at that moment but what would you have done if you were him? With this I just want to tell you to put yourself in his shoes, he has a motivation, a motivation strong enough to push him to do what he was going to do." My wife said while looking at me with a worried look. _'What would I have done in his place?'_ , These words flooded into my head sending it in tilt, on one side there was my impulsive part telling me that I would have done the exact same thing my son was going to do, on the other side the most reflective part of me would have done the exact opposite...

"Don't be so harsh with him, sir, it's partly my fault since I didn't manage to stop him..." Jewel said as she approached my wife and me.

"Don't talk nonsense Jewel, it's absolutely not your fault... I hope I haven't ruined my bond with Blu for this nonsense..." I said with a melancholy look in the direction in which Blu was directed.

"If you don't mind, sir, I could go looking for him and help him think over." Jewel said.

"You would do me a big favor, please let him reason and if it doesn't work... well I think we'll have to give him more time to reflect on what he was going to do..." I replied. I saw Jewel nodding with her head and then get away from us two in the direction where my son had gone. It was all new to me, never before had I found myself in such a situation, Blu had always been a quiet boy who used his head instead of brute force, today I had the opportunity to witness his first explosion of anger where he let himself blinded by his anger...

"John, don't break down, I'm sure that Blu will have no resentment towards you, after all, what you said is right, it's just that there isn't always a right choice or decision for every situation, every action we take, brings to a different consequence, if you didn't stop him, I can assure you that it would've ended badly." My wife said as she tried to cheer me up.

"I feel like I failed as a father, I didn't know how to control my words... you think I was too harsh on him?" I asked as I turned in the direction where my wife was.

"Maybe a little bit yes but... remember that each of us has a limit of patience, once exceeded that limit, reemerges from the depths of ourselves, a wild and indomitable side, what you have witnessed now, was what our son has kept inside of him. You've never seen him before because he never had the need to show it, in my opinion, he acted that way because he felt the need to protect someone, someone really dear to him and I'm sure you know who I'm talking about." My wife said as we resumed our journey to the valley. "You were right after all John." My wife said as soon as we arrived in front of the chairlift, ready to take another lap and forget what had just happened.

"What do you mean, Camilla?" I asked, slightly tilting my head, confused by her statement.

"You were right when you told me that you had a bad feeling and that something bad was going to happen to our son..." She answered, smiling at me as we were being transported up the mountain again.

"I see... I don't know how to explain it... I think it's one of those things that they call the sixth sense or father and son bond..." I said giggling as I thought back to the feeling I had a few minutes ago.

"I think it's the bond between father and son, after all, Blu has always been very close to you since he was just a child, I've never seen you two arguing like you did today..." My wife said as she leaned on my shoulder.

"I hope so much that our discussion hasn't in some way destroyed our father and son bond... In fact, I don't even know if I can still consider myself as a father..." I said, sighing with resignation, I wanted to be optimistic but there it was always that doubt inside of me that tormented me.

"Don't talk nonsense John, you're his father, not even the worst of fights can change such a thing. Give him some time, trust me that he'll soon be back and talk to you again, Blu loves you too much to be conditioned by a simple fight." My wife replied as she gave me a quick kiss on my cheek to cheer me up.

* * *

 **I recommend you all to watch the video 'Ed Sheeran – Perfect', not for the music but for the video, I randomly stumbled across it and I was blown away for how similar that video represented this arc of my story, if you hate that song (I'm not a fan too), it's fine you just mute it and watch the video, nothing else.**

 **I told you that this chapter would come out very soon... but it's been more than two weeks since my last chapter, let's say that I almost had to rewrite it from scratch, what I wrote previously was all written in a hurry without carefully describing what was around them. As you have seen, in this chapter, instead of being mainly focused on Blu, I decided to focus it on my other characters.**

 **I created John and Camilla for a specific reason, I can confidently say that in most of the stories I read about RIO, very few contain or speak of Blu's parents, since Blu's parents aren't a background character at all, I really want to dedicate enough time to them and develop more of their relationship with him etc...**

 **As for the next chapter... I hope to be able to publish another chapter by the end of August, I say this because the holidays are finally here for me, I can finally take a break from work and writing fanfiction to be able to rest and get rid of all the stress that I accumulated over the year.**

 **I have to tell you another thing, thank you so much for all your support, from the first chapter that I published on May 31, this story has reached 10 favorites, 11 follow and 100k of words... and to think that at the beginning I was going to write it as a one-shot lol. Thank you so much and also to all the people who left a review to me, you have maintained for now an average of 4.5 reviews per chapter. You can be sure that I will finish this story, I'm not going to leave any unfinished stories especially this one who many of you love.**

 **With this, I end this chapter, initially the whole matter of the quarrel with the father of Blu had to end within this chapter but as you can see, add one thing, add another thing and we have already reached the 10k of words... the fact that I cannot stop when I write is definitely a backfire, I sincerely hope that no reader is scared or bored while reading my long chapters.**

 **PS: this is the 20th story to reach the 100k of words goal in this archive... I promise that I didn't do that on purpose lol.**

~ **Fenix139**


	11. Frozen Time Part 3

**John POV**

* * *

-Frozen Time Part 3

Soon it was night, after my quarrel with Blu, I hadn't seen my son for the whole day. The same was true for Jewel, and I decided that before we began to think that the worst happened, it was better to wait until dinner and most likely I could have updates about my son over a great meal on a cold January night.

I walked through the long corridor with my wife, I decided to avoid talking about our son to not start another discussion. Once we arrived in the dining room, I immediately heard a familiar voice in the big crowded room, I sharpened my sight and immediately noticed a table where the whole family of Jewel was seated, but no trace about my son... we immediately went through the crowd of birds that were sitting at their tables, taking care to not hit anyone and to do the slalom between the various chairs that were present in the room.

Once seated at the table, I immediately turned my gaze towards Jewel, as soon as our eyes met, she immediately understood what I wanted to ask her. "I talked to Blu and he told me that he still needed to think about how he had behaved, now he's in his room while he's writing another chapter of his book." Jewel said.

"What?!" My wife and I said at the same time to the sudden news that Jewel had told us.

"Are you telling me he's going to skip dinner?!" My wife added with a very worried expression.

"Don't worry... before coming here I bought a sandwich and brought it to him, I preferred to not insist on dragging him here against his will." Jewel answered trying to reassure my wife's worries.

I didn't know whether to be happy or not, on one hand I was happy that as Jewel had said, it seems that my son isn't angry with me but with himself, on the other hand, I would love to talk to him and make things clear face to face rather than using intermediaries. I took a long sigh of resignation as I grabbed the menu on the table and ordered something to make me forget about my problems.

"John, I know what you're thinking, let's drink a beer and you'll see that it will help you!" Eduardo said and then immediately told the waiter to bring us two beers.

"Hey, wait a minute, John is still in punishment since New Year's Eve!" My wife said with a face firmly opposed to Eduardo's proposal.

"Camilla, come on, let them have some fun, we're four women against two men, are you afraid we cannot keep them under control?" Mimi jokingly said as she tried to calm my wife.

"Thanks Mimi, I owe you a favor." I whispered to Jewel's aunt without letting my wife noticing it.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

 _'Drops of blood fell from my forehead, I barely restrained myself on my feet that I had to kneel down to avoid falling while my gaze remained fixed on my enemy, I was full of determination and ready to fight for my ideals and what I thought was right. I gripped my sword firmly as I slowly lifted off the ground ready to launch a counterattack.'_

I breathed a sigh of relief as I put my pen on the table. "Finally, I managed to end this fight scene..." I thought aloud as I stretched myself. For days if not months I was stuck in this scene, it was really annoying this feeling of having everything already organized and well defined in my head but not being able and don't have the desire to write everything on the sheet.

I raised my eyes on the ceiling as a strong sense of happiness pervaded my whole body, every time I could finish a chapter of my book, it was an indescribable feeling, I momentarily closed my eyes to enjoy this moment of peace and silence. It was really strange to not hear cars and motorcycles outside of my window, I had grown up detesting the noise of the city... but now it was like as something was missing inside me.

I had always been a bird very attached to objects, especially if they had an important role in my life, for example, I still keep all my work done in elementary school. Although my mother had tried several times in the past to convince me to get rid of old things, I had always been very reluctant to the idea to permanently deprive myself of physical pieces of the memories of my life.

Anyone who came into my room, could see the various stages of my life, from my first essay to my first book and so on, I still remember the day when I was going to give up everything because I considered myself a good for nothing. I was almost throwing everything I had written until I saw a picture of myself with my parents on the desk, a single image was able to make me change my mind, it had managed to explain for the umpteenth time to me what it really meant to be a writer...

Having total control of the world around you, deciding the fate of your characters, creating long-lasting friendships, conflicts that would only lead to pain and suffering... my first stories allowed me to express ideas that I had in my head, to be finally free to share my ideas, imagination, and creativity to the whole world.

Unleashing your imagination and leaving a mark on thousands if not millions of people's hearth... In my opinion, being writers also means being determined, being able to suffer, being able to write tens of pages in a row and then get stuck on the part that was supposed to be the easiest for months, erasing and constantly changing what was written the day before. Many times, the career as a writer is so stressful but only the thought of seeing your story complete and published... seeing people crying of joy or sadness over your words... motivates me enough to continue on this insidious path, full of obstacles and difficulties.

I put my pen on the desk while I moved aside the paper I had just filled with ink in my ring binder. The faint light of the desk lamp illuminated what was in front of me as I lightly rubbed my tired eyes and turned my gaze away from the light source to take a break.

I got up from my chair and hit something, intrigued by that, I lowered my gaze to understand what I had hit as I found myself in front of an object wrapped in tin foil. I lowered to pick it up and slowly removed the tin foil that enveloped it. It was a sandwich, I did nothing but smile in front of the food I had in front of me.

"Only one bird could have done this..." I said aloud and then realized that there was a small piece of paper next to where the sandwich was, I picked it up and opened it to read the contents.

"I saw that you are very busy writing your book, I know very well that now you want to be left alone and that you don't really want to confront again with your father, so I took the liberty of bringing you a sandwich, eat and don't strain yourself too much. Love you, Jewel..." I read aloud as a smile formed on my face.

 _'It never ceases to amaze me that girl...'_ I thought to myself as I went out on the balcony of my room, I slowly began to give small bites to feed myself and charge once again my body of energy for the long night that awaited me. Suddenly my thoughts returned to my father, _'I wonder what he is thinking about the fact that I didn't come to dine with the family...'_ I thought to myself as some memories of the past pervaded my mind.

* * *

 **Flashback Blu's past, the publication of his first book.**

"Dad ... are you sure that they will accept to publish my book?" I asked while I was very scared that I was surrounded by dozens of writers in line, all ready to offer their stories to the publishing house.

My father turned on my side, smiling warmly at me, then knelt down to be at my level of gaze. "Don't be afraid Blu... your mother and I decided that this was the best thing for you because you're talented, I've read books for my whole life but I never expected one day to be here, standing in line to support the publication of my son's book." My father said, patting me on the shoulder. "We will soon be inside, this will undoubtedly be one of the most important moments of your life, I want you to know that I will be by your side, if you find yourself in trouble, just tell me and I will run to your aid."

Despite the words of my father always managed to give me confidence and to motivate me, I couldn't help but observe numerous birds that didn't stop staring at me, initially they thought that it was my father who was going to publish a book but as soon as they heard my name at the appeal of the candidates, there had been a moment silence with dozens of looks all turned towards me.

I had been so frightened that I had even proposed to publish the book under my father's name... needless to say, that he immediately refused, reiterating several times that it was wrong to take credit for something that he hadn't done. Sometimes I really envy my father's approach to life, he knew when to be serious and when to joke, he never took life too seriously and neither too lightly...

Suddenly I heard my name, we both turned and immediately realized that we were the next ones... I took courage and followed my father into the room that had previously been closed. Once inside, there were four other birds besides the two of us, they were all very serious looking birds, all in suits and ties with a look that would be able to read what was going through your mind.

I began to tremble in front of this view until my father's wing urged me to take a seat at one of the two chairs that were available to us. I was paralyzed by terror, it was the first time in my life that I was afraid of being judged, despite the same and identical thing happened at school, I was well aware that my future writers career was at stake right here, a possible publication of my book will open the door of a future as a writer and I absolutely wanted to open that door, _'No matter at what price, I will open it'_ I thought to myself as I tried to calm down.

"Good morning, you must be Blu or should I call you with your pen name, T. Gunderson?" One of the four birds sitting in front of me asked with a very formal tone.

"You can call me with my pen name, but if you don't want to do it, it's not a problem for me," I answered and then put the copy of the book that I intended to publish on the table.

"Tell me a little bit about why you're here today, you're very young to aspire to become a writer, give me a reason why we'll have to choose you and not the other writers with more experiences out there." Another bird asked while he stared at the sheet on the table.

I had a moment of hesitation, they definitely knew how to put me on the corner with their tricky questions, I took strength and I prepared to respond as best I could. "I know very well that I am young, but that doesn't mean that I am without any experience, I grew up among books since I was little, as oxygen is essential for every living being, books have played the same identical role for me. Today I am here to choose my path, to choose my future, I ask you to take a look at what today I have brought to you".

The four birds in front of me hesitated for a moment, they exchanged numerous perplexed gazes while whispering something among them. "You are definitely more mature than many adult birds I've seen so far, I'm not surprised that you managed to pass the selections, I like the way you expressed yourself, you made a comparison between the essentiality of oxygen with your passion for books, this did nothing but accentuate how important the books were in your life. "A bird said while he nodded with his head.

"I agree with my colleague, while I was reading your story, I noticed that you used many figures of speech... it is very unusual for a bird of your age to know how to use the figures of speech, I think you haven't even studied it at school yet, can I know where have you learned it?" The bird asked while his colleges were reading what I had brought that day.

"My father gave me a lot of help, he immediately understood that I learned much faster than my classmates and peers. He devoted two hours a day to give me an advanced lesson depending on my curiosity." I said smiling in the direction of my father. The birds that until now had their attention only on me, turned in the direction of my father.

"Is it true what your son said, sir?" The bird asked while slightly cocking his head and looking at my father with curiosity.

"Yes, I immediately noticed that my son is extremely curious and eager to learn, he devoured books as if it were bread. As soon as he had started middle school, he already read books suitable for university students. Obviously, he didn't understand everything he read and for this reason, I volunteered to help him." My father said, receiving smiles from the birds in front of us.

"I hope you know how lucky you are to have parents who support your choices, not everyone has had the same luck as you, for example, I wanted to be a painter as a child, needless to say, that I had to fight for my entire life to then give up." The bird said as he put down the copy of my book on the table.

"I am very sorry that you didn't have the opportunity to become an artist, sir," I said, saddened by the experience that had the bird in front of me.

"Don't be sad, it's not your fault and then, I still paint in my spare time, the only difference is that instead of becoming a real job, it has become a hobby." He said and then immediately resumed his speech. "Your story is interesting, but there are many parts you can improve, it's undoubtedly at the level of a high school student or even a university student but I have serious doubts if it's enough to be published." The bird said giving me an impassive look. I was really confused by all this, a few seconds ago it seemed that we had entered into a confidence and yet now it was as if our conversation never happened...

I began to tremble, I knew it wasn't going to be easy but at the same time I wasn't ready for a possible rejection, my gaze fell on the ground, I no longer knew how to reply and how to recover from such situation. I was ready for the worst until my father put his two wings on the desk in front of me.

"Please, give him a chance, he is very young but I assure you that he still has a huge margin of improvement, I will help him but I beg you to keep his story in consideration." My father said turning to all four birds in front of us. They exchanged dubious glances and a few whispers for several seconds until they began to nod among themselves.

"I can't make any promises, however, if your child's story will be the best story among all the candidates, we would like to apply some changes to take it to a higher level and consequently publish it in bookstores all over the world." He said and then resumed his speech. "Can we keep this copy of the book? We would like to have the chance to compare it later with others candidate's story." The bird asked as he waited for an answer from me and my father.

"Of course he can!" My father and I said at the same time, causing a laugh among all the birds in the room.

 **Flashback end**

* * *

From that fateful day, I must admit that many things had happened, a simple speech had managed to change my life, the publisher had called me several days later telling me that after careful analysis, my story was the one that could have more success among all those they had received.

The next day, my father and I immediately headed back to the publisher to listen carefully to how they were going to change my story, to my great relief, they weren't big changes that would have messed up the plot but only the little changes of some dialogues, description of the world, and personality of some characters.

The more I took refuge in my past, the more my guilt slowly began to devour me, _'How could I be angry at a bird that did so much for me? After he has sacrificed so much to make sure I had the best possible future?'_ I thought to myself as my gaze was lost in the starry sky in front of me.

I couldn't and I didn't want to blame my father, but I was here, in my room trying to avoid a direct confrontation with him... by tomorrow morning I must absolutely apologize. Once I had finished eating, I returned to my room, returning to my imaginary world where I was free to write and think as I wanted.

* * *

 **Jewel POV**

My father and the father of Blu didn't drink much, every time they filled their glasses, they received glares from their wives, needless to say, that my aunt and I had a lot of fun watching this scene. After a couple of hours, we were ready to go back to our rooms, as I walked along corridors of the hotel, all I could do was ask myself what Blu was doing at the moment.

When I arrived at the door, I opened it slowly to catch him by surprise, but the one who had been surprised was myself. Blu was slumped on the desk with the pen still between his wings, the room was lit only by the faint light produced by a desk lamp placed near him, I approached to see if he was alright, only to find him asleep on his sheets full of ink and with his beak still open while he was taking small breaths from time to time.

I used both my wings to close my beak because I was about to burst out laughing but I didn't want to wake him up, I turned to a shelf on which the TV was resting to pull out an extra blanket provided by the hotel. I approached Blu, moved all his sheets to prevent them from being damaged by his sleep or his saliva... once done, I slowly put the blanket on his body covering it well, then I approached him to give him a kiss on his cheek. "See you tomorrow, Blu..." I whispered and then headed to my bed.

* * *

 **Blu POV**

I was suddenly dragged out of my dream against my will, my body was suffering while I tried to open my eyes, I made a cry of complaint as I was about to caress the point where I was hurt, once I opened my eyes, I saw that I was on the ground wrapped in a blanket. _'I don't remember putting on myself any blankets last night...'_ I thought to myself, as soon as I stood up slowly from the floor, my head slammed against the desk making a loud thud. Needless to say, it hurts so much that no words could describe the pain that I was feeling at that moment, I held back a scream of pain as soon as I saw Jewel on the bed.

 _'She put the blanket on me...'_ I thought as a smile formed on my tired face, I turned around to analyze my surrounding when I finally understood the dynamics of what had happened last night. _'I fell asleep while I was writing and Jewel must have put the blanket on me and my paper sheets and writing material back in their place'_ I thought to myself as I put the blanket back in place. _'Now that I think about it... I haven't yet gone to my father to apologize... I wanted to go there last night but I fell asleep'_ I thought as I headed towards the bathroom to get ready.

I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled at my reflection, I had some of my feathers out of place that made my face quite funny, I quickly rinsed my face and then changed my clothes. Having done that, I went to the door and immediately heading in the direction of my parents' room, I was waiting for the elevator when I heard my father's voice downstairs.

My curiosity got the best of me, I ventured downstairs to understand what my father was doing, already awake at this hour of the morning. I went downstairs to see my father leave the front door of the hotel, I followed him out of the hotel to suddenly find him in front of me while he looked at me with a surprised expression.

"Since when do the children spy on their parents?" My father asked sarcastically as he looked at me with an intrigued expression. I was taken by surprise, I didn't expect to get caught so early that I still didn't have a speech on how to apologize to my father.

"Dad... why are you out here at this time of morning?" I asked as I tried to not look away from my father eyes.

"Why are you asking me something that you already know Blu? I thought you are smart so you should know very well why I'm already awake." My father said, not changing his impassive expression in the slightest.

"All right, it's useless to use this kind of trick with you, I'm so sorry Dad for what happened and for how I behaved but I think you already know it..." I said, lowering my gaze. There was a moment of silence where the only sound that I could hear was my heartbeat, that lasted until my father suddenly placed one of his wings on my shoulder that caught me by surprise.

"I know that you're sorry but I admit that I had my doubts, maybe I should use other words that day but I really hope you learned the lesson." My father said, raising my gaze with his other wing, I was paralyzed, he looked like another bird... it was the first time he had taken such an approach with me.

"It's absolutely not your fault, dad, you made the right choice to stop me that day... I want to thank you for always thinking about my good and helping me even in the most difficult moments." I replied smiling in the direction of my father while his voice managed to give me the tranquility and security that at that moment I really needed.

"Isn't this the duty of a good father? I'm happy that this little quarrel hasn't affected our relationship." My father said, smiling back.

"I couldn't wish for a father better than you, I will never change anything about you... or maybe only your unpredictable side when you get drunk but I think it's a fair compromise to have this part of you, dad," I replied. I was suddenly surprised by my father's sudden movement, he hugged me as he had never done before... his two powerful wings wrapped me gently as he held me close to him, I relaxed and leaned my head on his shoulder letting myself get dragged away by this father and son moment. He behaved like an authoritarian and severe bird but he had always lied to his feelings, the only bird with which he was truly sincere with his feelings was my mother, _'After all, I am a writer and many times it is easier to express yourself in a gesture than with words... sometimes a gesture is worth a thousand words and his hug is worth more than anything else for me'_ I thought to myself as I kept my head on his shoulder.

"As for personality, you remind me very much of your mother... like her, you are unpredictable, stubborn but at the same time, you will always remain my son and I can only be happy about it. We should head back to the hotel before they wake up and start wondering where we ended up." My father said, loosening his embrace as we headed back inside the hotel. Once back inside the hotel, there was a long explanation to my mother and to the Jewel family of what happened while they slept, they were all happy that everything went well and nothing went wrong.

We decided to interrupt the discussion to have breakfast, as usual there were so many birds standing because breakfast, unlike dinner and lunch, was without waiters and therefore we had to serve ourselves just like in a buffet restaurant, needless to say, that I had witnessed many quarrels between birds who fought over stupid things like a chocolate croissant and things like that.

I had even witnessed an attempt to barter, 2 apple pies and 1 slice of raspberry cake for a slice of chocolate cake... it's absurd that a bird can even reach this level of desperation in order to reach one of its goals. I took courage and jumped into the crowd making some space between the numerous birds blinded by their need to get what they wanted. After a few minutes, I went back to my table to reunite with my family, everything was going well until my mother broke the silence that had been created around our table.

"Guys, me and Sarah were thinking about changing a bit the activities of today, instead of going skiing as usual, how about we spend the day to go shopping in the city?" My mother asked all the birds that they were sitting at the table. There was a moment of silence and doubt from the men at the table while the girls all agreed until my father intervened as usual.

"Well, I don't see why not... just don't empty my wallet dear..." My father said giggling as he nudged Jewel's father. As I expected, they got along very well, so much that they suddenly burst out laughing.

Needless to say, that this didn't please their wives at all, they didn't stop throwing glares at their husband as they kept whispering to each other while they exchanged giggles and mischievous smiles. Sometimes I just don't understand how my father could be so naive when we talk about her, he knows better than me that he always needs to keep his eyes open or he must be ready to suffer his consequences.

After a little quarrel between girl and boy, we were finally ready to reach the center of the city, once arrived at the destination thanks to public transportation, we were surrounded by clothing stores, needless to say, that at the sight of the sign 'sale'... the girls literally disappeared from the group leaving only us three males alone, in a sense we weren't even so much surprised of the fact that they disappeared so quickly.

"Wow, I didn't even see them move..." Jewel's father said as he quickly looked around to find the girls.

"Women are like that... at the sight of the sales sign, they literally disappear from sight." My father replied giggling as he sat on a bench not far away from us.

"I was expecting Jewel to have more self-control but I can see that I was wrong..." I added, slightly disappointed that even Jewel couldn't contain herself in front of the winter sales.

"Son, don't worry, sooner or later you'll get used to it..." My father said sarcastically as he slapped me on the shoulder and laughed with Jewel's father.

"You're too young, you still don't know what awaits you, enjoy single life for as long as you can." Jewel's father added.

After a couple of minutes, while the three of us got more and more bored sitting on the bench waiting for the girls, Jewel's father had proposed several activities but since none of us knew this city and the shops that were there, we were a bit 'lost and we didn't know where to go. I was about to propose an idea of what we could do when I was distracted by a familiar figure approaching us.

"Dad, Am I seeing mom or I'm wrong?" I asked as I sharpened my vision to see if that girl in the crowd was my mother. My father waited a few seconds before answering and then formed a smile on his face.

"Yes she is, and she is without any bag... my wallet can only be happy with this news." My father said, giggling as he got up from the bench where we were sitting and waving his wing to get my mother's attention.

"Here you are." My mother said as soon as she reached us. "Eduardo, your wife is looking for you, she is in the shop on the corner of that street in front of us." My mother said pointing to the direction in which Jewel's mother was standing, Eduardo nodded and went straight to his wife's direction.

"It's really strange that you've come out of a shop without buying something, Camilla," My father asked, looking with an intrigued look in the direction of my mother.

"It's because I realized I didn't have enough money with me for a dress I found in a shop not far away from us." My mother said, smiling mischievously at my father.

The smile that was present on my father's face disappeared immediately leaving no trace of the happiness that was present a moment ago. "... Always the same excuse huh? It isn't the first time you use this excuse to get something from me." My father said rolling his eyes. Needless to say, that my father, generous as he was, followed my mother to a shop not far from us, both he and I, we had been forced against our will to stay by her side for the duration of her purchases.

Our mood hadn't changed much from what we had a moment ago, I was sitting in a chair as I watched my father's casual look as he was forced to judge every dress that my mother chose.

"Honey, I found a perfect t-shirt for you." My mother said, managing to get my father's attention, which he immediately turned in her direction. It was a nice T-shirt but it was clear that it was too big for my father, he immediately pointed out to my mother but she didn't want to hear any complaints and insisted on trying it before saying it was too big. My father, snorting, went to a dressing room not far away and after a few seconds, he comes out of it.

"It fits you really well, dear." My mother said, smiling as she walked around my father checking his new t-shirt.

"What?! How can you say that it fits me well? It looks like that I'm smuggling a ton of bricks under my shirt." My father said, arguing back the compliment he had just received from my mother. Needless to say, I was bursting out of laughing, my father sometimes knew how to be witty without ever getting to the point of being too offensive or rude.

"Wow dad, you're so rude towards mom..." I commented sarcastically at my father's sentence, trying to tease him.

"I agree, he doesn't understand what it means to be fashionable and to have style." My mother said, giggling as she looked with an amused expression in my father's direction.

"If wearing a shirt that is at least 2 sizes bigger than mine means being 'Stylish'. Then I want to stay simple, am I asking too much?" My father said sarcastically, clearly offended by my comments and my mother's one.

"It's not my fault if you're getting fatter and fatter day by day." My mother replied, defending herself from my father's sarcasm with more sarcasm.

"You're hurting my feelings, Camilla..." My father said, clearly hurt by my mother's words.

"Oh, don't act as if you were the victim, who started it first?" My mother said rolling her eyes.

"However, when you told me that I'm getting fatter every day, it goes in conflicts with what you told me last night, if I remember correctly you have also praised my body..." My father said, smiling mischievously in the direction of my mother. My mom's face suddenly turned red, so much that thanks to her blue feathers, a purple color shade was created on her face.

"STOP, don't you dare to add any detail of what we have done in our intimate moment to our son!" My mother replied as she ran towards my father's direction to shut his mouth. My father did nothing but smile at this gesture of my mother, he slowly moved the wing of my mother away and then gave her a kiss.

Obviously now I was used to witnessing such situations but I couldn't understand the fact that they continued to behave as if they were a young couple who just got engaged, my father certainly had more confidence than me, for him it wasn't a problem to say face to face what he thinks of the bird in front of him. After a long day at the shops, we had finally received a phone call from Eduardo to ask if we had finished, needless to say, that as soon as I heard those last words, I was really pleased with the idea of finally escaping from this psychological torture.

The days passed quickly and soon it was time to go home, I was at that moment in my room, I was carefully and strategically repositioning all my clothes inside my suitcase, I must admit that this week had been truly unforgettable. I was really glad to be able to go home, to go back to our bookstore, to go back to school and be able to see my friends again. With these happy thoughts in my head, I entered the taxi that would take us to the airport and after long hours of flight, we were finally back home.

* * *

It had been months since we had come back from vacation, spring was coming and the snow was beginning to melt. The days flew, my life had not undergone major changes unlike last year, I was still busy at school, I continued my book in my free time, I went out with friends after school or on weekends and when I could, I helped my parents in the library. _'I'm back to my usual monotonous life'_ I thought to myself, I was currently in the library while I looked at everything around me with a bored look.

Jewel and I spent time together when we could but of course, since we were still students, we were both busy and so most of the time we could briefly meet during school breaks and talk on the phone, I wanted to go out with her more often after school but the pressure was very high. We were among the students with the best grades of the school, we had high expectations from all the birds around us and our diploma was almost upon us.

Several times we agreed to see ourselves less often to focus on our future, we both knew that once school was over and after the book fair, we could come back to see each other more and more often, after all, our Valentine's day went so wonderfully well, we had so much fun and it was definitely one of the happiest days of my life.

Now only a few months separate me away from the fair, my book could be considered finished because the plot had been decided, and the summaries of the final chapters were written, all I needed was to find the motivation to make a last effort and everything would be finished impeccably. Today was a day like any other, I hadn't even the faintest idea how to continue my story, even though the summaries were already written, that doesn't mean that it was an easy task, I had come again in front of one of the many obstacles that do nothing but delay the whole publication of my book.

It was really frustrating but I had learned to live with it, today my father was very busy, many books had yet to be cataloged and so he remained for most of his time in the warehouse to sort and catalog the new books that had just arrived. My mother instead, had taken the day off, she had taken the opportunity to go and see an old friend out of town, most likely she would be back tomorrow morning or this evening, so my father and I were without a car.

It wasn't a coincidence that I was bored, I had no one to talk to, my only talk was with a few customers who already knew what they were looking for and so they didn't even give the satisfaction to help them. I was more and more worried about the fair, the time was shrinking and a few weeks before it, I even had the exam to get my diploma...

 _'This is going to be a really hard and challenging month'_ I thought to myself, pulling a long sigh of resignation as I watched the birds come in and go, the hours passed but my mood hasn't changed. When 2 hours were left till the closure of the library, my father had finally finished cataloging the new books and so I had finally had some company, the time passed very quickly with him as usual and soon I was at the entrance of the library ready to go home.

"Blu, did you turn off the lights in the warehouse?" My father asked as he checked if everything was in order before closing the library.

"Yes dad, today was a really boring day," I said while I was impatient to start walking back home.

"That's how life works, you cannot pretend to always be happy and do what you like best, the sooner you learn it, the better it is." My father said, giggling as he locked the library door and pulled down the shutter.

"Sometimes I think it would be better if we went back to the past where each of us was free to do what we wanted, before we worked to live and now, many times it's the exact opposite, we live to work..." I said while my father and I had started marching towards our home.

"What a big word, are you willing to leave your possessions and comforts you currently have to go back to peasant life, hoping to survive another year with your little garden?" My father asked sarcastically.

"Well, maybe not but I think you've figured out where I want to go, do you say I'll be able to start a successful career?" I asked, turning in my father's direction.

"This depends only on your determination, the career as a writer isn't very profitable, obviously there are exceptions but I don't know if you can maintain a family doing a job like that." My father replied as we walked the streets of the city.

"This is the problem, in order to have a job that pays well, many times you have to do jobs that you don't have any passion for it... I would love to become a full-time writer but it's a too risky job..." I said with a tone of concern.

"I see you have already arrived at this stage, you see, now that you are about to graduate, you are already asking questions about your future... you could work as a journalist, change career or make the most of your opportunity during the book fair." My father said, smiling in my direction.

"What do you mean by making the most of my opportunity during the book fair? I know it's my big chance to announce my return to the world of literature, but I sincerely hope that there are still many of my fans out there." I said, slightly surprised by my father's words.

"You never read the newspapers? Don't you know that they had to expand the location of the fair because there was a lot of demand after your registration? It's your chance to shine and maybe you can do a job that you truly like." My father said, not surprised that I wasn't aware, after all, he knew that this was a particularly difficult period for me.

"Maybe... if I could sell the rights of my books to some Hollywood movie company... maybe I could make a lot of money, enough to last for my whole life..." I said beginning to fantasize about the possibility of seeing one of my stories at the movie theater.

"It's a very ambitious goal, but it all depends on how you will handle your fame, but if you succeed... try to fulfill my desire to own a Lamborghini..." My father said starting to giggle in the middle of the night.

"Again with this story? I thought you were drunk and that what you said didn't reflect what you really wanted." I replied, perplexed by my father's desire.

"Who doesn't want to own a Lamborghini? It's always been my dream as a child to own a sports car, but if this desire isn't fulfilled, patience, I can live with that." My father said as we stopped in front of a traffic light. The streets were illuminated by the light of the street lamps scattered along our path and today, it was strangely a particularly windy day, I had to close my eyes several times to prevent dust from ending up inside my eyes.

"How about if we take the shortcut?" My father asked as he looked at me with an amused look at the sight of me using my wings to protect my eyes.

"What shortcut? Do you mean to cut through the park by chance? "I asked, surprised by my father's idea.

"Exactly, I see that the wind is bothering you, so I think that going in the park, where we are protected from the trees is an excellent idea and it even saves some time." My father said starting to head towards the entrance to the park.

"Well you're not wrong, the trees around us are protecting us right now." I said as I watched the branches of the trees move quickly as a rustle of wind caressed my plumage. The park was dimly lit, there were very few street lamps and many times you had to walk in the middle of the total darkness, but you could hardly get lost because there were sometimes some directional signs.

The wind blew in an unstoppable way, it was like an omen that something was going to happen, in the meantime I was left behind my father, I began to speed up my pace when I suddenly heard a pop that could be clearly distinguished in spite of the incessant rustling of the wind between the trees, I looked up and saw a large, almost broken branch that was about to fall over my father's path. I began to run while trying to warn my father to get off the path of the branch that could fall at any moment, my father didn't immediately understand what was about to happen and looked at me with a puzzled look wondering what was going on with me.

I had no choice but to jump and push him away with great force, I fell on the ground but as I tried to get up, the world around me suddenly became dark, a sharp sound echoed my head and in a blink of an eye, everything disappeared and I sank in the darkness not understanding what exactly had happened to me.

* * *

 **John POV**

I gently caressed my wing, trying to clean it as much as possible from all the dirt and dust that had landed on it while I was ready to ask my son for explanations of his sudden behavior. "What are you doing, Blu? You could've hurt me pushing me so suddenly in that way, I'm not as young as I once did!" I said as I slowly stood up from the ground.

Once my gaze stopped on my son, there was a thud in my heart, I ran immediately to him to notice a large branch over his head, pushed it away with all my strength to then discover with my great amazement and anguish, a large pool of blood... My wings trembled as I tried desperately to look for some sign of life in the bird between my wings, I could perceive a faint heartbeat but that was enough to give me enough hope and call for help.

It was the longest minutes of my life, a sense of guilt gripped me and it couldn't help but blame myself, _'How can I be so careless? How can I not immediately understand my son's warning? How could I have been so foolish?'_ I held my son's body tightly between my wings while I couldn't contain my tears at this scene.

I leaned my son gently on the ground as I tore off a piece of my shirt to try and stop the bleeding of blood that seemed unstoppable, I kindly wrapped my son's head, not caring that I now had my wings all covered with blood... Only the thought of that blood that had stained me belonged to my son, did nothing but worsen my condition by dropping more tears from my eyes as I waited impatiently for the ambulance.

Several minutes passed until I suddenly heard the sound of the siren not far from us, second after second it grew louder, my heart beat so loudly that for a moment I thought I was fainting with joy, a thousand thoughts passed through my head while the rescuers positioned my son on the wheeled stretchers. They asked me a few questions but I was paralyzed by fear, by the fear of losing him, seeing in front of me my son's body in that state had made me mute and unable to answer their questions about the dynamics of events.

Soon they decided it wasn't the right time to ask me questions, once got into the same car where my son was, we were heading at full speed to the nearest hospital. I was scared, I was confused about how such a bad thing happened to us... it must have been an evening like any other... by now we had to be home by my wife and... Camilla... she would never forgive me... she would never forgive me for having made such a thing happen to our son.

I was his guardian, I was the one who had to protect him... but I had failed, I had failed to protect my son and my failure had caused my son now to be in this state while he is fighting between life and death... arrived inside the hospital, I ran with the rescuers for the long corridors of the hospital, I received many puzzled looks of patients who were currently waiting to be visited but ignored them all, I could only hear the creaking of the wheels of the bed where my son was resting and my footsteps echoing through the entire corridor.

In the meantime, I had told my wife what had happened, we didn't talk much that she immediately closed the call after hearing that our son was in the hospital. After a while, she showed up in front of the door where beyond it, there was our son and numerous doctors who were desperately trying to save his life... "John! What happened to Blu?!" My wife said, panting as she tried to catch her breath.

"A branch... a branch broke... Blu tried to warn me... he saved my life but at the cost of his..." I said, trembling only at the memory that had already settled in my mind, making me fragile and helpless... My wife immediately noticed that it was a too painful memory to be remembered, she just hugged me while we waited anxiously to see our son get out of those two icy white doors in front of us...

* * *

 **AN: Here we are at the end of the chapter, this is undoubtedly the most difficult chapter for me to write, I intended to publish the chapter 1 week ago but after a series of reflections and various things, I discarded 12k of the story that I had previously written. In a nutshell, this is the plot twist I mentioned a few chapters ago.**

 **I had to rewrite the plot of the story, I had to change many things but, in the end, I managed to get what I wanted. As you can see, I did a big time skip, one of the main reasons why I did it was that it seemed to me that I was dragging this story for too long, I discarded two days of vacation in the mountains of Blu, the valentine's day between him and Jewel, the date of Rebecca with Alex and much more.**

 **It seems a very rash thing but, to be honest, they were boring, the story has already reached a respectable length and I don't need boring filler chapters to stretch out furthermore this story, besides, let's say that I'm also running out of ideas and I think that if you don't know how and what to write, don't write it or write something else. By doing all those time skips, I simply speeded up the end of the story, now I suppose that there are now 2 to 3 chapters before the end of the story.**

 **As for the next chapters, I sincerely hope to be able to finish the story by September but of course, this depends only partially on me. I hope you haven't been disappointed by the sudden change and tone of my story but this story is called 'A Reason To Live' for a reason and although I haven't put any kind of genre like Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Tragedy etc... this doesn't mean that this story should be all peaches and dandelions (everything should go right). In the following chapters, you will better understand my choice of title. I thank all those who left a review and all my readers who stuck up with me till now.** **A little sneak peak for all of you, the next chapter is titled _'Shattered Memories'_ , make your guess :)**

 **~Fenix139**


	12. Shattered Memories Part 1

**John POV**

* * *

-Shattered Memories part 1

I was fighting against the need of my eyes for a little of rest, my wife in the meantime, since she couldn't stay awake, she asked me to wake her as soon as the doctors came out of the room in front of us. I managed to stay awake thanks to the sound of the footstep of many nurses running from one side of the hospital to the other one, midnight was already passed and I decided to warn the family of Jewel and the friends of Blu the next morning, so they'll be able to sleep peacefully and thoughtlessly.

The silence had fallen on the corridor for already several hours, most of the patients had already gone home, I could only hear the ticking noise of the clock that marked the passage of time. I held my wife close to me to be able to feel her heartbeat. I was afraid, I was about to lose my son and the last thing I wanted was to lose her too, in a few words... I was afraid of losing everything I had until a day ago, feeling my wife's body breathing softly while she was leaning on me, really helped me to relax my mind.

Some nurses had proposed to me several times to wait in the waiting room where there were sofas on which me and my wife could rest but I refused, I wanted to see my son come out of those doors personally, to hear his voice again, I wanted him back again in my life, my desire was simple and trivial but it was really what I wanted the most at that time.

My eyelids were getting heavier and heavier as the world around me became more and more blurred... I shook my head very quickly to regain lucidity when I was suddenly interrupted by a female voice. "Sir, please reconsider my proposal, follow me in the waiting room so you can be much more comfortable instead of trying to stay awake." The nurse said, trying to not wake my wife who was next to me.

"I slept in far more uncomfortable places than this, my wife is sleeping peacefully so I don't see why I should move right now, my son could get out at any moment and I want to be there when he comes out of that door," I said in the kindest and most courteous way I could.

The nurse breathed a sigh of resignation and then walked away from us, I turned my gaze back to the white door I had in front of me, I couldn't hear any voice or sound from it, _'It must surely be soundproofed'_ I thought between me when I suddenly saw the same nurse again with two blankets and pillows between her wings walking in our direction.

"I resigned myself to the idea that you won't move from this position, so I decided to bring two blankets and pillows, so at least you and your wife can stay warm and comfortable as soon as your son will come out of that door." The nurse said and then handed me the blankets that she had between her wings.

"Thank you very much... you shouldn't have bothered yourself that much for us..." I replied, impressed by her generosity.

"Don't worry, I know it's a difficult moment for you, every day I see situations like this and from a parent to a parent, I would do exactly the same thing you're doing if my son was behind those door." The nurse said, smiling as she returned at her station.

I stood there not moving a single muscle of my body, I was struck by her kindness and generosity that I took a few seconds to recover from it, I would never be able to do a job like this, _'Instead of doing my job I would probably spend most of my time consoling parents or friends of patients who were recovered,'_ I thought to myself chuckling as I wrapped my wife with the blanket the nurse had kindly lent us.

The hours passed but there wasn't much movement from the room, except for some nurses who came out and entered it with new equipment and vials of medicine unknown to me. I had tried in vain to try to extract some information from them, but they had always firmly reiterated that they were just helping the doctor and it isn't their job to tell me how my son was. They repeated to me several times that I had to be patient because they are doing everything they can to save his life.

By now, I had already lost track of time, I was tired and in desperate need of sleep, I closed my eyes to sink into the world of dreams until a sudden movement suddenly awoke me. I opened my eyes to see my wife as she kept calling my name, my head was spinning as I tried to get up from the position where I was sitting, I quickly looked around me to realize that we weren't alone at that moment.

"John, I'm sorry to wake you up but the doctor has just come out!" My wife said as she helped me get up. I looked up at the door and saw an older bird with a white coat in front of me.

"Doctor, tell me how is my son please" I pleaded, I desperately needed to find out the fate that was due to my son.

"I have good news and bad news, which one do you want to hear first?" He asked the doctor in front of us calmly.

I rolled my eyes as I heard that question, I've see too many movies to already know how this will ends up going. "The good news first," I said after discussing it with my wife.

"Your son is still alive." The doctor in front of us said smiling. A strong sense of joy pervaded my body and erased within a few seconds all the negative emotions that had tormented me since I had entered in this building, I celebrated this moment with my wife, forgetting for a moment that we weren't alone.

"I suppose it was you who stopped your son's bleeding?" The doctor asked me while looking in my direction. I paused for a moment thinking of what had happened a few hours ago, I nodded with my head to receive a smile from the doctor and a stunned expression by my wife.

"You did what?!" My wife asked with an appalled face, not understanding how I managed to do something like that, I smiled at the expression of my wife as I lifted my wing to better show the shirt that I was wearing at the time.

"You ripped your favorite t-shirt to save our son's life..." She murmured as she started sobbing and then lunged at me pouring tears of joy on my chest. I was slightly stunned by her sudden outburst of emotions that I did nothing but hug her while I stroked her head trying to calm her down.

"I would do anything for you and our son, everything." I whispered to my wife, I saw her pupils dilate as soon as she heard my last words, I was ready to ask more information about our son to the doctor when I was suddenly caught by a passionate kiss from her...

"If you hadn't done something to stop the bleeding of your son, by now he would no longer be among us, my compliments sir." The doctor said as soon as my wife and I separated from our kiss.

"As for the bad news... what would it be?" My wife asked in a dubious and worried tone, we were both afraid that our son could suffer some permanent damage from this evening's accident.

"Well... the bad news is that your son hasn't yet woken up," The doctor said with a sad look, my wife and I exchanged different perplexed looks until we decided to ask for further explanations.

"Is that a bad thing? Maybe he's just tired and needs some rest?" I asked naively.

"I thought that too but after some test, we discovered that your son is in a coma state and we don't know when he will wake up..." The doctor said, surprising both me and my wife.

The world had fallen upon me, I was left speechless... I couldn't believe that anything like this could even happen to my family... "Coma?! Can't you guys do something to wake him up? Will he ever wake up?" I asked, decidedly frightened by what I had just learned.

Needless to say, the doctor told us that they couldn't do anything and that everything depended on our son's willpower, I lowered my gaze to the ground, not knowing what to do anymore, I received the support of my wife for the rest of the night but then fact that there was the possibility that our son wouldn't have awakened, it literally destroyed all the hope that I had in me into dust.

* * *

I woke up the next day with slightly reddening eyes because of my great effort to stay awake from last night, after looking at the time on the phone, I decided to alert the family of Jewel and Blu's friends about what happened to my child. Having to say something like that on the phone was heartbreaking but I managed to complete my mission.

After a couple of hours, they were all in the room that had been assigned to our son, it was a spacious room, with a large window overlooking a little park outside the hospital, a bookcase and a sofa with a small table in front of it, but all this was useless and not necessary if my son didn't wake up... I struggled to stay awake but thanks to a cold morning air breeze, it managed to keep me awake for the duration of our visit.

"I still cannot believe this could have happened to Blu..." Jewel's mother said as she looked with a saddened expression at the sight of my son lying on the bed, motionless and with his eyes closed, the only sound we could've heard in the room was a machine that detected his heartbeat.

There was silence in the room, none of those present knew how they could express themselves, they were undoubtedly all saddened, especially Jewel because she was the one who was undoubtedly more attached to Blu after me and my wife. I looked with regret at the state in which my son was reduced, his head was bandaged because his wound hadn't completely healed yet, on his right wing he was connected by a needle to an IV drip.

The doctor had passed a few hours ago to check the status of my son and he had told me that since he was in coma, the only way to keep him alive was to feed him through an IV drip mixed with a mixture of nutrients able to keep him alive for as long as possible hoping for his eventual awakening.

A couple of hours had already passed, unfortunately none of us could stay all day at his side and so we were preparing to say goodbye to our son in an attempt to resume our usual routine, in turn, each one of the birds in the room made a small speech to Blu, from his friends, to the parents of Jewel, only Jewel was missing but I already knew from her eyes that she would have made her goodbye in a more particular and special way than the others.

"Blu... I don't know if you can hear me right now... just know that I would never and ever have imagined one day to be here, with you lying on the bed..." Jewel said trying to keep her tears, it was a harrowing scene and no one dared to make any noise to disturb her.

I saw Jewel take a deep breath as she tried to gather her last energy to finish her speech. "We've come so far my dear, look how we've grown, I want to stay with you, until we're grey and old..." Jewel said, dropping some tears on the bed.

"I want to live with you, even when we're ghost, because you were always there for me, when I needed you the most... this is a part of the song that you singed to me that night... I won't let you go, Blu..." Jewel said and then moved away from my son's bed. Jewel's words were undoubtedly strong, I knew they loved each other, after all, it's in the most difficult moments that you really understand how much a bird cares about you, if before I even had a single and smallest doubt about their relationship... after this scene it had completely vanished.

We left the room, leaving our son to the care of the various doctors and nurses of the hospital, I had promised several times to come and visit him as often as possible and I had every intention of keeping that promise. We all went back to our previous lives but it was obvious that something had changed from our usual routine, we pretended smiles and laughs with the birds next to us but underneath, there was so much pain, suffering and remorse, in few words, we were hiding all our feelings from the birds outside of our family and circle of friends.

* * *

 **Camilla POV**

My husband wasn't anymore the bird he used to be, he was behaving as if I didn't know he was suffering, I think he still couldn't forgive himself for what happened to our son... I'm really struggling to keep him under control...

He had always been the one who raised the moral of the family, no matter what situation we were, no matter what happened or who did what... Both my son and I knew for sure that we could always count on him, count on his support... he was our beacon of wisdom, which is now inexorably extinguished during this dark night with the stormy sea...

Despite that, he didn't stop smiling at all our customers and friends... he tried to trick everyone but I knew him too well, behind that smile there was so much suffering and sadness... I tried to talk to him several times but every time he liquidated me with the same excuses like 'I'm fine' or something else...

I noticed that many times he kept looking out of the window of the store, it was as if he expected to see someone enter... it was obvious why he behaved like that and I was undoubtedly aware of who that someone was. I missed him too but at least I didn't let myself be dragged into the abyss of depression for that.

It may seem hypocritical and heartless to say these words but I was more than sure that if our son had the opportunity to talk to us now in person, he would have told us to stay calm and continue with our lives... I was sure he would come back to us... it was just a matter of time.

Unlike him, I had a more realistic view of life, I can seem very cold and impulsive but this was my true nature... my husband also loved me for this, we were almost the two perfect faces of the same coin, while he sometimes behaved in a way too kind and generous, I was the other part that restrained everything when he exceeded the limit of tolerable.

Being too kind in life doesn't lead to anywhere in my opinion and I had learned this at my expense, if you're lucky, you can create new friendships... but the risk was to be exploited because you were too kind... I wasn't surprised by the fact that my son was more fond to my husband. In the typical family that was on TV, where the father was the strict one who gave lessons of life while the mother gave the so-called maternal affection and moral support. In a nutshell, the father was generally portrayed as the brain of the family while the mother as the heart... but we were exactly the opposite.

A personality too gentle must be balanced by a more severe one, this was my ideal of cooperation between husband and wife, he wasn't able to be too strict, he tried with his gaze and the change of tone but for the most of the time, he hesitated to act to make someone respect the rules.

In short, I was the villain of the family... I had always felt this way, but I admit I was really lucky to find myself in this family where I really felt at home, where I had a purpose and to know that they needed my support to face everyday life.

Perhaps it was also for this reason that our relationship had worked so well, neither of us crossed the personal space of the other, the kitchen was my kingdom while the education of our son was his one. However, this didn't mean that I had been an absent mother, I wasn't physically present in their chats but I was always there, far away while watching them with a watchful eye.

I tried to cheer him up, I couldn't stay there to watch all of this, although I could look like a very insistent bird in this moment, I did it for his own good... for the sake of our family... I was afraid he would sink into depression, I was afraid that if I didn't keep him under control, he would start drinking to forget... maybe I saw too many dramatic films but at the same time, life was unpredictable and anything could happen...

We were back home, as usual, I was in the kitchen while I was preparing dinner, my husband in the meantime was in the living room watching television. Once I finished preparing everything, I called him to come and eat.

"John! Come, dinner is ready!" I shouted aloud, trying to get his attention. After a few seconds, I heard footsteps towards the kitchen, I smiled and began to set the table. I saw my husband enter the kitchen, his face was indifferent, it was completely different from what he usually had...

It was too much, I could no longer live in this way, I had to tell him things as I thought, if I didn't act right away, he would probably always be locked inside himself. "John... please come back to yourself, you cannot blame yourself for something you didn't even know it could happen..." I said, stopping him to try and lift his spirits. He raised his gaze that until now was facing the floor, he looked me straight in the eye and then looked at the table where the dinner was resting.

"I see that even you have a hard time to overcome this period..." John said not looking away from the table.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused by his words, he raised a wing to show me where to look, I followed his movement and then lingered on the kitchen table... there were three dishes... although we were only two...

"I didn't even notice it..." I said, slightly shocked by what I had done involuntarily.

"It's normal darling, you don't have much difficulty in repressing your emotions while I struggle a lot, especially now..." My husband said, sitting down at the table. I was silent in front of those words, he was right, after all, he had never been good at hiding his feelings... like the first time we met when we were young...

"John, I really need you to come back to yourself... please, we'll get through this moment together as we've always done..." I said, dropping a few tears on the kitchen floor. I had reached my pain-toleration limit, I was extremely in need of someone I could lean on... I suddenly felt a wing rubbing against my cheek and drying my tears.

"Camilla... you are strong and I know it better than anyone else, you have a rebellious and tenacious personality, seeing you in this state just hurts me." He said smiling at me, _'He's back...'_ I thought to myself as I admired once again that smile that I missed so much. "I was a fool to not notice that I was having a bad influence on you..."

"I still remember our first quarrel... it was for a stupid thing that now I don't even remember but it helped me to understand you better. At the beginning I misinterpreted your actions, I thought you didn't care about our relationship when it was just that you showed affection in a different way, just like my father after all..." My husband said as he held me close to him, not wanting to leave me alone at this moment.

"I still remember it, I cried the night it happened and it helped me to mature and behave like an adult, not all quarrels bring suffering and sadness. I'm glad you gave me a second chance that night..." I said, going back in time with my mind... thinking about it, I am still ashamed for some of my behavior in my life, I admit to have been slightly spoiled as a child and this unfortunately had a bad influence on my personality.

"Don't talk nonsense, it was me who wanted to have a second chance to understand you better..." He smiled at me. "Do you still remember the song that I kept singing after our first quarrel?" He asked, raising my head to look at him straight in those blue eyes.

I hesitated for a moment, I remembered that song, but I was dubious about where he wanted to arrive at that moment. "I remember it, but unfortunately I can't remember the lyric of that song... I hope you can forgive me..." I replied, slightly lowering my head.

"Let me refresh your memories; I thought you were the one for me, that's why I gave you everything. Held you close by the stormy seas, oh, you meant the world to me." He sang, those words made me fragile and weak, he managed to let me relive some fragments of the past through those words... I remained silent letting him continue and enjoying an intimate moment only him and me.

"I used to kiss your head when you cried for me, hold your hand(wing) while the pain was all around. Keep you warmed by the roaring sea, oh, you mean the world to me." He finished, smiling in a very embarrassed way and then rubbing the feathers on his neck. "Despite being a sad song, it helped me to understand how important you are to me. Unfortunately, my memory is rusty, I don't remember the rest of the lyric because I haven't heard that song for quite some time... I hope you will forgive me for this time..."

I smiled at his words, marveling again at how I had managed to find a bird like him, truly unique in the world. "Of course I forgive you, even if you don't really need to apologize... Now come here and eat, the dinner is getting cold!"

The evening passed very quickly, for a moment we had forgotten all our problems, sometimes a kiss or a I love you every day wasn't enough... I had really forgotten how much I loved him...

"Camilla, do you still remember when we first moved into this house to live together?" My husband asked while we were lying in our bed.

"Of course yes, you were ashamed to sleep with me and moreover you didn't dare to walk around the house without a shirt on you, you kept telling me it was because you wanted to give me privacy and respect my space... you're really strange John, and it's also for this reason I decided to spend my whole life with you." I said, looking at him with the most seductive eyes I could do at that moment.

"You'll never change... Just like when it took you two months to ask that fateful question and you know very well what I'm talking about..." He said, turning his gaze to the ceiling of the room, leaving me in my thought as I was trying to recall that moment of my life.

* * *

 **Flashback; New house, new life**

It was a really cloudy day, the sky was dark and the wind howled outside our windows, it blew so loud that I was forced to close the windows. We wanted to spend the night outdoors but I was sure it was better if we stayed at home that evening. Soon we could hear rumbles of thunder in the distance with a flash of light that lit up for a fraction of a second the room where my husband and I were.

We had been living together in our new house for a few months now, he was absolutely perfect, he was kind, nice, caring and especially, he loved me like no one else in my life had done. We had decided to spend the day watching some movies together, I was absolutely thrilled about it but I had something inside of me that had to confess to him...

I really wanted to start a family with him, we had been married for two years and we had moved from a few months in our new house. I was more than sure that this was the right time to ask him that fateful question... But deep inside me, I was afraid to scare him or ruin our relationship...

Suddenly, a roar of thunder struck our city, emitting a noise that could break a eardrum, the sound was so loud that it made the windows shake and made me take a good fright. I immediately felt two wings envelop me tightly, trying to console me from the raging climate that was outside our house.

"Don't worry, as long as I am with you, you won't have to worry about anything in the world." My husband said, gently whispering into my ears while keeping me warm between his wings. I relaxed my body letting myself be dragged by his courage and kindness, I leaned my head on his chest as I felt his heart beating slowly.

 _'He wasn't bluffing, his heartbeat is normal while my heart beats faster than ever, not only because of the fright I had just taken but also because I couldn't help but love him even more than before...'_ I thought as I held my head on his chest.

I could hear a slight ticking noise outside of our window, first it was a background noise but now it had turned into a real storm. Drops of water fell from the sky over the city as if they were bullets, the strong wind changed the direction of the rain, transporting the water as if it were dust. The window from which I witnessed this atmospheric event, soon misted due to the difference in temperature of the outside compared to the interior of our house.

"A storm... It's a pity that with all this noise, it will definitely ruin our movie..." My husband said slightly disappointed by all this, he observed with a saddened expression to the window of the living room who is now covered by thousands of drops of water while thunder and flashes thundered intermittently, breaking our focus on our movie.

"You're right, why does it have to rain today during our movie night?!" I complained, slightly annoyed by our misfortune. Suddenly, everything became dark, we were completely immersed in the darkness while the only source of light was the thunders outside our window that lit up our entire room at irregular intervals. I snorted as soon as I realized what had happened, _'Someone up there has to really hate me...'_ I thought as I was about to get up from the couch.

"Stay here, I'm going to get some candles, check if I can restore the power and see if there is any damage," John said and then got up from the sofa, taking out from his pocket his smartphone and using it as a flashlight to navigate in our house sunk in total darkness.

I got up from the couch despite my husband's advice to get close to the window, I wanted to see if we were the only ones to have lost power or it had been a blackout of the entire neighborhood. As I imagined, all the neighbors were in the dark, I couldn't see any source of artificial light outside my window, it was amazing how quickly the window fogged, with my wings I tried to clean the glass surface that it immediately blurred.

"Here I am, Camilla, there's no damage in our house and I found some candles and a lighter." My husband said and then lighted up a candle and put it on a plate placed on the table to not spread the wax on the entire surface.

"We aren't the only ones without power, the whole neighborhood is without electricity... from bad to worse..." I said with an expression decidedly discouraged by the bad luck we were having at the time.

"Yeah, at least I have you by my side to keep me company," He said, giggling as he held me close to him.

"The usual mushy..." I said with a sigh of resignation as I smiled at him, suddenly my thoughts returned to the fateful question that I wanted to ask him, I started to wonder if it was the right time or I should waited for a more appropriate moment.

"Camilla, something troubles you? I see you're very thoughtful, do you want to confess with me or do you want to keep it all for yourself?" He asked, slightly tilting his head as he looked at me with a worried expression.

I was stunned, _'How did he notice it? How did he realize that I was thinking of something?'_ These were the thoughts that roamed around my head as I tried to better formulate my next reply.

"I have something that I wanted to ask you for quite some time..." I said timidly as I tried to gather enough courage to finish my sentence.

"Do you want to ask me if I want to have a baby with you?" He asked, raising his gaze to meet mine. I was literally frozen in my place, _'How could he ask me something so nonchalantly? How could he not have any doubt or insecurity about such a thing?'_ I thought.

"What?! But... how do you know what I wanted to ask you..." I asked while looking at him with a surprised expression.

He laughed at my question, until he stopped after receiving a dirty look from me. "You're very predictable, do you think I ignored or didn't notice all your signals?" He asked, looking me in the face. "You started out of nowhere to want a house of ours, you wanted to choose a house with at least two rooms even if we sleep together, you began to be enchanted by baby clothes while shopping and not to mention how happy you were when we went to see your dear school friend's baby..." He chuckled.

"You see how predictable you are, I have long thought about having a child and I have come to a conclusion but it is a question for you." He said, turning to me with a more serious look. "Do you consider me a good husband and a good future father?" He asked earnestly as he waited impatiently for my answer.

I was slightly caught by surprise, on one side I was expecting him to ask me one of his typical questions that always managed to surprise me on the other side I didn't know what to do... John was undoubtedly an extremely mature and caring bird, he was undoubtedly the best husband I could ever wish for and dreamed, he had no defect that could compromise his role as a father...

I sighed as I prepared to say my answer to his question. "Yes, you are the best husband I could ever wish for, and I am sure you would be a very good father." I replied as I received a smile from him.

"I don't know why but I was kind of expecting you to answer me like that... going back to your question that you asked me at the beginning, yes I want to have a child with you Camilla and if the best wife and future best mother in the world make me compliments like that, I can't do anything but say yes." He concluded and then kissed me passionately. I let myself get dragged away from that moment, completely ignoring everything that surrounded me at that time, for me there was only me and my husband on that stormy evening.

 **Flashback end**

* * *

"You were much more romantic, except that, we haven't changed much since that day." I said, smiling as I relived that moment in my head.

"I knew you would tell me something like that, let's say that when we were just married, I had to win your trust and love, now that we've been married for over twenty years... some of the things I used to do before, I consider them now to be taken for granted..." He replied.

"You aren't completely wrong but to tell the truth, since I met you, something inside me had told me that you were the right man for me, in a few words you had my trust from the first day that we meet. "I said, resting my head on his shoulder. "You've really tightened a strong bond with our son, I must admit that I'm a little jealous of your bond..." I confessed, thinking back to my son who was still in the hospital.

"Jealousy? Really Camilla? Our son loves both of us..." He said clearly shocked by my words.

"On that I have no doubt but you cannot deny that he's more attached to you than to me... but I don't blame him, our son has undoubtedly chosen a very responsible bird on which to open and lean on in the most difficult moments, I would probably do the same thing if I were him..." I said, looking sadly at the portrait of our family hanging on the wall of our room. "After all, we all have preferences, but it is up to us to decide whether to make them explicit or implicit. We have to stay strong, I'm sure we'll soon be able to hug our son again..." I said, letting tears fall on the sheets of our bed.

My husband immediately raised his wing to hug me firmly trying to comfort me. "You're right, well I'm sure we'll see him again soon," He whispered softly.

"Tomorrow I'm going to visit him, you should rest, you're really stressed these days," I said. As I imagined, he immediately opposed my proposal by repeatedly reiterating that he was fine and wanted to come with me too. If there was one thing he had learned over the years he had lived with me, it surely was that I hardly changed my mind and soon he gave up and supported my choice.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up early, I dressed up and prepared the breakfast. Once I finished everything, I went upstairs to wake my husband, I will never get tired of seeing him sleeping, that smile on his face was able to calm me even in the most difficult moments of my life. Many times I wonder what he was dreaming of at night...

I woke him up by giving him a little nudge, then I told him that the breakfast was ready and that he had to hurry up. He yawned as usual and then headed for the bathroom. A few minutes later, he went down to see what I had prepared for him.

"Wow... Camilla did you do all of this for me?!" He said, amazed at what he had in front of his eyes.

"For us, you silly bird." I said giggling as I looked at him with an amused expression.

"Wait a minute, I'm going to call our son!" He said, smiling and then heading towards the stairs.

I was petrified by his statement, it was an automatic response, dictated by his subconscious, we were now used to respond in this way that many times we forget what had happened a couple of days ago... "John! Wait a minute!" I shouted, running after him as he climbed the stairs.

I climbed as fast as possible to find him standing there in front of our son's room. I was very saddened, seeing him in this state was heartbreaking, I approached him to place a supportive wing on his shoulder and give him all the help he needed at that time.

"John... I tried to warn you..." I said doubtfully, not knowing how to approach him in that moment.

"So... it was all a dream..." He murmured as he entered our son's room, with one of his wings he gently caressed the books on his bookshelf while he had suddenly stopped in front of our son's guitar.

"What kind of dream are you talking about?" I asked, more and more confused.

"Last night I dreamed about our son, it was an extremely realistic dream, we talked for a long time, we joked and laughed together... he reassured me that he was fine and that everything would be alright... for a moment I forgot that all this had been nothing but a dream..." He said and then put the guitar back in its place.

"John... maybe you really met our son in your dream, none of us can be sure that what you saw is only the result of your imagination or the appearance of our son in your dream..." I said consoling him. "After breakfast, I'll go visit our son at the hospital, in the meantime, wait for me at the library, and I'll get to you as soon as possible," I said and then saw him nodding.

Once the breakfast was over and said goodbye to my husband, I left the house and headed to the hospital. I stopped in front of the florist to buy a bouquet of flowers for my son, having done so, I resumed my journey to my destination.

The hospital was a very hectic place, as soon as I entered, it was very noisy especially at the waiting room, I heaved a long sigh before flinging myself into the crowd of birds in order to reach the elevator that would take me to the floor. in which my son was.

As soon as I got out of the elevator, I was immediately greeted by a nurse who had kindly offered to accompany me to my son's room. During our journey, we came across a room with an open door, it may seem normal and harmless thing, but I was able to hear the harrowing crying of the family inside of it.

My heart twisted in pain as I heard those cries. Screams and tears were heard throughout the corridor, the nurse who was accompanying me apologized for a moment with me and then rushed into the room to understand what had happened.

I felt really uncomfortable to find myself in such a situation, many birds came out of their room to understand what was happening and since I was casually in front of it, I had the attention of the entire hospital floor...

Numerous doctors rushed into the room and finally had the decency to close the door, although the door was closed, it wasn't enough to completely isolate the sound coming out of it, to my great regret, you could still hear some of the conversations they were having inside of the room...

I decided to move away from the room momentarily because it was having a bad influence on my mood... I looked out the window of a waiting room while I was admiring at what was surrounding the hospital. I plunged into my thoughts and was later thrown out of it as soon as I felt a wing on my shoulder.

"Excuse me, ma'am, I didn't mean to scare you, I called you several times but you seemed to be immersed in your thoughts." The nurse said apologizing several times.

"You shouldn't apologize to me, I was just distracted..." I said. "Could I know what happened to that family in that room we just passed?" I asked, not managing to hold back from asking for explanations about the situation I had previously witnessed.

"Well... the birds in that room were the children of the bird lying on the bed... they were doing their usual daily visit to their father when he suddenly had a heart attack... the doctor on duty had tried everything to save his life but it was too late..." The nurse said with a saddened expression. Useless to say, I immediately regretted asking such question…

"The screams and crying were for their now deceased father... it is really sad to watch such scenes, for us observers it is difficult to understand their pain if we haven't had similar experiences." The nurse added while we looked for a moment back as we watched the family leaving the room with tissues and completely redden eyes.

"This job must be really hard... having to deal with situations like that where you don't immediately understand the conditions of the patient in front of you ..." I said as we resumed our journey.

"If you don't mind... can I ask what happened to your son?" The nurse asked.

"Well... he had an accident... a branch fell on his head causing a big bleeding... my husband was with him and he managed to save him by calling for help and stopping the bleeding of his head thanks to a piece of tissue torn from his T-shirt. Now unfortunately he's in a coma state and hasn't yet awakened from it..." I replied.

"I'm very sorry for what happened to your son... not everyone is calm and brave enough to stop a bleeding, especially if it's a bird dear to you, your husband must be really special." The nurse said with a surprised expression as soon as she heard my words.

"He's undoubtedly special... unfortunately after that accident, he changed... He can't forgive himself as if everything happened because of him..." I said, lowering my eyes. "This morning he was convinced that our son had come back to us and rushed into his room, only to be slapped by the harsh reality that their meeting was nothing but a dream..."

"Your husband dreamed of meeting your son?!" The nurse said in a tone of skepticism.

"Well yes, I know it's crazy but from your face, it seems something that happens frequently, am I right?" I asked, confused by her sudden reaction.

"It is said that when a patient is on the thin line between life and death, sometimes they find enough energy to appear in a dream to their loved ones, they are just rumors but I have been working here for years, it isn't the first time I heard things like that, of course, none of us can know if it's fiction or reality but there's always hope..." The nurse replied.

"It's exactly the same thing that I told to my husband, I'm confident and sure that our son will come back sooner or later to us. He's too strong to let everything he has created over the years to be swept away as if it were dust." I said, smiling at the thought that it was really our son that appeared in my husband's dream.

"This is the right spirit, here is your son's room, I wish you good luck and that your son wakes up from the coma. If you need me, you know where to find me." The nurse waved goodbye and then left the room to return to her station.

I closed the door behind me and then turned to the room in front of me, everything was in order, I approached my son to notice with great amazement that in the meantime they had removed the bandage at his head.

I placed the bouquet of flowers next to him as I sat in a chair near him. I stretched out my wings to grab his wing, I held it tightly between mine as I prepared to do my usual speech...

"Blu... I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm willing to talk to you even if I can't have any answer from you... We miss you... all of us, you have no idea how much you've changed our lives..." I said, letting tears fall.

"You're kind, you're funny and wise on many other occasions like your father after all, we really miss you... every day without hearing your voice is heartbreaking and your father has changed since the day you left us. With left, I mean temporarily because I am convinced that you will come back to us and everything will return as it was before..." I added, unable to contain my tears, I tightened my grip on my son's wing even stronger because it was the only way for me to feel his presence, to be by his side...

"You really understand how much you miss a bird until you lose it, no sentence was truer than this... we miss you, I know that I have already repeated it for several times but I really feel the need to let you know it... A parent shouldn't see their child go before them... it isn't fair..." I said and then burst into tears, I began sobbing and wiping away my tears while I couldn't take my eyes off my son's unmoving body...

"Camilla, please calm down..." I heard a voice come from outside and then see the door in front of me open, to my great amazement I found myself in front of my husband, _'What are you doing here?! Why you aren't in the library?'_ I thought to myself as I tried to calm myself down.

"Please listen to what I'm about to say before killing me like you usually do." He chuckled as he wrapped me in his protective wings.

"I knew it was a very bad idea to have you come here alone, your speech was really emotional and touching, I'm proud to have you by my side, you're the most loving and protective mother I could ever wish for." He said, I was about to open my beak before it was closed by one of his wings.

"Wait a minute, I'm not done yet, you're wondering why I'm here, well, to be honest, I wanted to spend a moment with my family, as a father, I cannot leave my wife and son alone, I always have to be ready to support them in times of difficulty, we are a family for a very specific reason do not you think that too?" He said, lowering his wing to allow me to speak again. I remained motionless, I didn't know whether to be angry at him or not, he had promised me that he would go to the library but instead, I found him here, I turned to our son and... I couldn't be angry at him, I hate to admit it but most likely I would have done the same thing…

"You silly bird..." I said, pretending to be pouting and turning away from his blue eyes that seemed able to read everything that came through my mind.

"Oh, don't act like a child, rather, what kind of story did you tell the nurse out here? As soon as I told her that I was our son's father, she looked at me with completely different eyes than she had a moment ago. She began to treat me as if I were a celebrity, not wanting to let me go for a second!" My husband said bursting into laughter, I couldn't help but join him, forgetting the pain I had felt until a moment ago...

 _'Blu... I sincerely hope that you can hear our laughter, just know that we will be here when you wake up, everyone will be here when you come back on this planet, you still have a whole life in front of you and it would be a huge pity to end it right now... After all... the best has yet to come.'_

* * *

 **AN: This was a really difficult chapter, writing a sad moment is really difficult. The biggest mistake I hope I haven't committed is that of becoming too repetitive or boring. I hope to have transmitted to each of you all the feelings of my character through my words...**

 **If you have any requests, for example, the past of some character or a specific moment of their life, now is your last chance, in the next chapters I will put the fundamental for the final chapter and once done, I can no longer make changes to the story, I think that I don't need to tell you how to contact me, you already know what you have to do to write to me.**

 **I had foreseen the end of the story by the end of September but it seems that I won't be able to keep my goal, it will probably end up by mid/late October. Thank you again for all those who left me a favorite and a follow, I know that you're getting bored with this phrases but I swear to you that I never expected to receive so much attention, especially for the fact that I am not an English mother tongue.**

 **To be honest, this is my favorite chapter so far, my style of writing has changed dramatically since the beginning of the story. So much that I could seriously say that the previous chapters aren't written by me. As you can see, I really felt the need to define the personality of the mother of Blu, this story focuses mainly on his family since this is the part that was completely skipped in the movies.** **I had the idea of this chapter in my mind for months, I had written all the ideas and dialogues on numerous sheets scattered between my notebooks, I must admit that it came out even better than I expected in my opinion.**

 **I will try to speed up the writing process of the next chapter but because of my sudden change I have made in the latest chapters, I have nothing with me to facilitate my work, the only thing I have ready is the final and I must admit that I will have to edit it several times to make it epic, enough talk and I hope to see you all in my next chapter!**

 **PS: For those who is interested, the song that John was referring to is called "Diamond eyes - Everything" and I must admit that it's thank to this song that I managed to find the motivation to finish this chapter.**

 **~Fenix139**


	13. Shattered Memories Part 2

**Jewel POV**

* * *

-Shattered Memories part 2

"Guys, this week you will have the task of writing an essay." Professor Edwards said as he finished writing something in his notebook, causing many dismayed and surprised faces in the classroom.

"Don't worry, this time you won't have to follow any specific topic, unleash your imagination, you can treat any topic you want." The professor added, ending up transcribing all the topics of today's lesson and looking up at the class that was in front of him. He smiled as soon as he saw some pale faces of some of my classmates, many trembled with anxiety and others just stared to the void, not knowing what to do. "As I imagined, I see you all very concerned about this task, it isn't always easy to decide what topic to deal with, I am sure that many of you would certainly prefer restricted choices of topics, in order to keep all the essays on the same level of content but I wanted to change."

"During our life, we won't always have a guide that helps us along the way, many times we will be alone and we will have to find a way to overcome adversity along our path alone, with this, I end this lesson." Finished the professor as he waved goodbye to the whole class and then closed the door behind him.

As soon as we heard the door close, it immediately generated a chatter among the class, numerous voices began to speak at the same time, asking the classmate next to them if they had any idea for this task. In the meantime, I was very perplexed, I didn't write a creative essay for a very long time and I didn't know how and what to invent for this time. The end of the year was approaching and I didn't have many other opportunities to improve the grade that I had achieved so far if I get an excellent mark with this essay, I will most likely access the exam with a very high grade, not that the current one that I had was bad.

I looked up again to write something in my diary, starting to think about any specific topic I could write for the essay, once done, I waved goodbye to all my classmate to go back to my parent's restaurant. At the gate, I saw my friends looking around at them with disoriented faces. "Hi guys, are you looking for someone?" I asked as soon as I joined them. As soon as I finished my sentence, the three Macaws, two scarlet and one blue, crossed their sights towards me and then they rushed in my direction.

"Here you are, Jewel!" Sofia said as soon as she saw me and then held my wing tightly.

"We were looking for you, Jewel!" Mary added, smiling at me while Roberto was behind her.

"Why are you guys looking for me? Did something happen? "I asked, clearly confused by their behavior.

"Listen... we know what happened to Blu and we know how important he is to you, but that doesn't mean you're alone, we're your friends and you should not avoid us every time we try to hang out together!" Sofia said as she pulled my wing.

"Come and spend time with us, being always alone will only worsen your mood and then, I found out from my sources that Professor Edwards gave you a difficult task isn't it?" Roberto said, smiling mischievously.

"Well yes... I have to write a creative essay, it doesn't matter what it focuses on, it only counts on the content and the way it is written and knowing him, hardly anyone will meet his expectations..." I said, forcing a smile to reassure my friends.

"Come with us, we will help you to choose a topic, moreover, I found out that they opened a new store in the city!" Said Mary, pulling my wing joyfully together with Sofia. I sighed with resignation as I watched their faces, they were more determined than ever, they would never have accepted excuses from me and after all... it has been a long time since I spent a day with them...

"All right, but first I have to warn my family, give me five minutes to warn them," I said, turning away and pulling out of my pocket my smartphone.

* * *

 **Eduardo POV**

"Honey, it's already late, why hasn't our daughter come back yet?" I asked as I continued to walk nervously around the room.

"Relax, after all, she's only 5 minutes late, not an hour or more!" My wife replied while she couldn't help but laugh at my behavior.

"What if something happened to her? Do you think I should go look for her?" I asked as a thousand thoughts passed through my head. "Okay, enough, I take the car and go looking for our daughter," I added with a determined expression as I was wearing my jacket, I took the keys of my car and then headed to the exit of the restaurant.

"What are you doing?! Wait a little longer, I'm sure she will come right away!" My wife said, holding me firmly and preventing me from crossing the exit of the restaurant.

"It is my job to make sure that no one in our family is in danger, let me go, Sarah!" I protested, trying to wriggle me out of my wife's grip.

"Don't be a stubborn boy, I told you to wait a little longer, it's too early to get alarmed!" My wife replied, releasing an incredible force and managing to drag me back inside the restaurant.

"I can't believe it! How can you be so strong?!" I replied as I tried to hold on to anything that happened to be along my path, trying to slow down my inexorable and imminent defeat.

"I endured you for 20 long years and I managed to resist the most atrocious pain to bring our daughter into this world, no ordinary woman could have resisted such obstacles." My wife replied, managing to keep me sitting on a chair. I was speechless as soon as I heard the words of my wife, she was undoubtedly a strong and tenacious woman, she was absolutely not a common woman before my eyes... I breathed a sigh of resignation while I kept an eye on the clock that didn't stop to mark the passage of time.

"You aren't wrong to consider yourself a woman out of the ordinary, but this doesn't explain how you dragged me back into this chair!" I retorted, slightly embarrassed at having been so easily overpowered by my wife.

"Shut up, you can't accept the fact that you've just been beaten by your wife in a challenge of strength," My wife replied, smiling mischievously.

"Oh really? I was just holding back, if you want to put it in this way... prepare to contain your husband's fury and determination!" I retorted, suddenly getting up from my chair.

"Just know that when I agreed to marry you, I knew very well what I was going against and I certainly won't run away from a challenge like this!" My wife said, using both her wings to keep me down in the chair.

It was an unprecedented challenge, I hated losing and she knew it very well, I could use all my strength to win but this meant that there was the risk that she would get hurt... although I said I would use all my strength, it was clear that I was lying, Sarah had always been a tenacious and determined woman before my eyes. After all, it was thanks to her that I really understood what I wanted to do, get and become in my life.

"Ehm... am I interrupting an intimate moment between you two?" A female voice asked behind us. Both my wife and I were frozen in our positions, the only movement we made was to slowly turn our heads in the direction of the voice that had just been heard. In front of us, there was my sister Mimi, she undoubtedly had the bad habit of showing up in the worst moments, it was as if she were doing it on purpose to embarrass me every time.

"Sister?! What are you doing here? It's early for the evening shift, shouldn't you be on your break?" I asked, clearly confused to see her in the restaurant at this time.

"In fact, I should still be on my lunch break if it weren't for the fact that you two don't answer the phone." My sister replied while she was sitting at a table not far from us.

"What do you mean, Mimi? Did something happen? "My wife asked, we both exchanged puzzled looks as we tried to imagine all the various disparate cases that would bring my sister to show up here sooner than she should.

"Does your daughter tell you something?" Mimi asked, unable to keep from smiling at our confused faces. A flash of thunder hit my body, bringing back to my mind my main objective, my wife had managed for a moment to make me forget what I was going to do a moment ago...

"Is Jewel with you?" I asked as I stood up from the embarrassing position my wife and I were seated.

"Jewel said to me that she would spend the afternoon with her friends and asked me to tell both of you to not be worried about her, especially to you my little brother," Mimi said, bursting out laughing.

"Why should you emphasize such a thing only to me and not to everyone?" I protested as I looked at my sister with a perplexed expression.

"Said the one who wanted to go out there, looking for our daughter after not even 10 minutes late, you would be able to even call the entire army just to find our daughter." My wife said, joining the laughter of my sister.

"I knew it that my little brother would've reacted in this way!" Mimi laughed out loud as she threw several fists on the table to emphasize her mood.

"Very funny big sister, who knows when you will grow up and become more mature for topics like that..." I said, rolling my eyes while I was witnessing this scene. "Rather, why has Jewel not directly warned me and Sarah?" I asked as I waited for my sister to recover from her uncontrolled laughter.

"She tried but it's obvious that when she needed her parents the most, both of you aren't there to answer the phone, so she warned me, forcing me to come in person to warn you." My sister said, trying to recover from her recent outpouring of emotions.

"But how... I have my smartphone with me, I must've heard the call of our daughter!" I replied pulling out my phone and seeing 5 missed calls... I checked better to then find out with my disappointment... "Phone in silent mode..."

"As I imagined, and you Sarah? How come you didn't answer your daughter phone calls?" Mimi asked.

"I have the phone in my purse that I placed in the kitchen..." My wife replied in a very embarrassed way.

"All right, each of you has an excuse, Jewel will come back for the evening shift and I'll be back after the time I have still left of my break, see you both later!" Mimi said, waving to us and going out the restaurant door. I took a long sigh of resignation as I poured a bottle of water into a glass to quench my thirst, my wife joined me, keeping me company and making me feel less lonely in this currently empty local.

"Do you still remember that table near the cash desk?" My wife asked, staring at a specific point in the room. Intrigued by this, I turned to see which table she was speaking of, it was a table that was undoubtedly old, completely different from every single table in our restaurant.

"That table... isn't that what I think?" I asked my wife as my brain reworked every single memory I had connected with that table.

* * *

 **Flashback, Our first date, Third person POV**

It was a hot summer night, the sun had set for several hours, leaving room for clouds and the moon that radiated the earth with its mystical rays. The shadows lengthened before disappearing, perfectly camouflaged and blended with the surrounding of that moment. A car was moving very fast on the highway, sitting on it were two blue macaws.

"So, Eduardo are you ready for our first date?" The female blue macaw asked, driving the car as they sped onto the asphalt with the view of the city behind them.

"Of course, I cannot wait to spend the whole evening with you, Sarah." The male blue macaw replied as he stared at the landscape outside the window of the car and all of this with 90's music in the background. The lights on the sides of the street intermittently lit their car because of the speed in which they traveled, soon they were surrounded by vegetation, vast and wide fields of wheat broke the boring and monotonous skyline of buildings and edifices in the city.

It wasn't long before they slowed down to the next exit of the highway, they reached a little town not far from where they had left, the streets were decidedly in a bad condition for their standards, with many holes scattered here and there and all lit up poorly by few street lamps scattered along their way.

"Um... are you sure there's a restaurant in this little town?" Sarah asked, looking very skeptically about everything around them while keeping her focus on the road in front of her, she saw nothing but vast fields with a few houses here and there.

"Yes, a friend of mine recommended a traditional restaurant nearby, he says they make great traditional American dishes!" Eduardo said, holding a large map in front of him where he kept track of their position from time to time.

"A friend of yours? I don't know whether to trust his word or not... you know that up to now you have had a bad influence from your friends... I don't want you to come back to the life you did before you met me..." Sarah said, watching her husband for a brief moment with a worried look and then immediately returned her attention to the road ahead of her.

"Sarah... I made you a promise the day you agreed to give me a chance... you didn't forget it, right?" Eduardo asked, slightly lowering the map he had between his wings as he looked at his girlfriend.

"Yes... I remember your promise, you haven't yet figured out that I'm not worried about you but about your so-called friends... you've managed to show me that in the former hooligan I had in front of me, there was a golden-hearted bird, able to do the impossible and willing to change his life just to be with the girl he loves." Sarah replied, rewarding her boyfriend with a smile as she hurried to reach their destination.

Not long after that conversation, they reached the center of the city, among the various deserted streets, they reached a shop with the light on, passing in front of the window, they read the sign, it was undoubtedly a restaurant. The place wasn't crowded but not even empty, it was undoubtedly a traditional restaurant with many portraits and photographs of famous guests.

"Ehm... I think we shouldn't stare at the restaurant while we're still inside of our car... they'll think we're plotting something shady if we stay here without going in..." Eduardo said, looking at his wife with a perplexed face.

"Yes, you're right... can you get a table for two? In the meantime, I'll park the car," Sarah replied, apologizing for her silly behavior.

"Ehm... are you sure?" Her boyfriend asked, clearly doubtful of the idea she had just proposed.

"Of course, we're here for this... come on, don't tell me that a big and strong bird like you is afraid to get a table for us..." Sarah said, teasing her boyfriend as she wondered how much he had changed in such a short time for her.

"Okay... if you say so... I'll do it just for you!" Eduardo said as he got out of the car. Sarah smiled as she saw her boyfriend from the rearview mirror of her car as he walked toward the restaurant, she pulled over to the first free spot, pulled the handbrake and adjusted one last time her dress she was wearing before getting out of the car. As soon as she got out of the car, she opened her bag and tried to put the car keys inside it.

"Sarah! Get in the car!" A voice said in front of her, she looked up but what she saw upset her, it was her boyfriend and among his wings, he holds a table that must surely belong to the restaurant.

"What... Why the hell do you have a table with you?" Sarah asked with a shocked face as she constantly rubbed her eyes, not believing what she was witnessing.

"You said, GET a table for us!" Eduardo replied, panting as he ran towards Sarah.

"But I told you to get a table for us, which means to book or reserve a table, not to steal a table from the restaurant!" Sarah replied, not knowing what to do in front of a situation like that.

"It's too late! I think they've already noticed that a fucking table is missing from their restaurant! "Eduardo replied, finally reaching his girlfriend at her car. There were a lot of voices coming from the restaurant, only two voices could be heard before, but now there were at least five others on that dark summer night.

"I can't believe what I'm going to do! Get in the car! I cannot afford to let you go to jail on the first night of our date!" Sarah replied, opening the trunk to allow Eduardo to place the table inside their car.

They closed it very quickly, immediately dashing into the car, Sarah turned it on and immediately lowered the handbrake, they left as fast as possible, darting through the dark streets of the little town. "I can't believe that I'm going to the jail because of you!" Sarah screamed and then accelerated even more as they arrived on the highway.

"I'm so sorry, Sarah... I misunderstood your request... if they arrest us, know that I will take all the blame, I won't allow the cops to ruin your life because of me." Eduardo replied, who until then remained in silence, undergoing all the scolding by his girlfriend.

Sarah stared at him speechless, he wanted to take all the blame just to not involve her, she thought between herself as she tried to get away from the place of theft as quickly as possible. Contrasting feelings fought inside her head as she tried to stay as lucid as possible. Her heart was racing, and for a moment the engine of the car was spinning with the same intensity with which her heart was beating.

"Don't even think about it," She replied after several minutes of careful reflection. Eduardo jerked his head up to look at her, more than surprised by the words of his girlfriend.

"You did something extremely stupid I have to admit it..." Sarah said, letting a small smile escape from her beak. "You risked your future for such a stupid thing like stealing a table for me... Just to let you know, I'm not going to forgive you completely but since you seem extremely sincere and honest... I will temporarily accept your apologies..."

 **Flashback end**

* * *

"You were an unconscious, I still can't believe you could steal a fucking table from a restaurant without them noticing it..." My wife said, she couldn't help but laugh just rethinking about that moment of our life

"You're right, I admit I wasn't the smartest guy in the world... but let's be honest, I could easily have a future as a thief!" I joked, receiving a glare from my wife and making me immediately regret the statement that I had just said. "Ok, ok, I was just joking, I'll never dream of risking leaving you and our daughter alone without a father and husband."

"I see that in all these years with me, you've finally understood what I'm about to say before I even open my beak. You literally forced me to hide the car in the middle of a forest... I was so afraid of being found by the police..." Sarah said, staring at the table that had been ruined by the passage of time.

"I still remember that moment... you were trembling and you were about to cry... I'm still sorry to have almost risked us ending up in prison... but you have to admit that these are unique adventures of our life! In short, when you'll have the opportunity to repeat an adventure like this at our age!" I said, hugging my wife and trying to be the closest to her in a moment like that.

"You aren't wrong... it was undoubtedly the craziest adventure of my life..." My wife replied. "The hall is really big, right? A room so big with just the two of us..." My wife added, smiling as we were relaxing.

"It's also due to the echo that is created as we speak to make us seem even more alone and small compared to our surrounding," I added, placing my glass on the table.

"Well, you'll never be alone, you'll always have me and your daughter on your side no matter what." My wife said staring at the window of the restaurant.

"I could say the same thing about you, I hope so much that Jewel recovers from that episode, since Blu fell into a coma, she is no longer the same joyful girl I knew..." I said, staring at the now empty glass of water in front of me as I sank between my thoughts.

"Blu is a really special guy, I'm not surprised that Jewel feels in this way, I understood it from our first meeting in the library, I have always been wary of birds outside our family but with him... Something strange happened, I don't know if it was his way of speaking or the so innocent appearance that managed to convince me to believe in him..." My wife said.

"You aren't entirely wrong, I was even more suspicious than you, but as soon as you told me that you trusted him... my mistrust turned into curiosity. It isn't from you to trust someone so quickly, this is the main reason why I insisted and insisted on wanting to know him... I must say that in the end, it was worth it... especially when he imposed himself to defend our daughter..." I added while staring at a picture of our family together with Blu's one.

"I remember that episode... when Camilla told us about it... I could hardly believe it but after seeing the expression of John and our daughter... I couldn't help but change my mind." Sarah replied.

"I had never seen John with a more serious expression of that day, his blue eyes were... were perfectly able to freeze you instantly, I'm happy that everything was resolved between them without any rancor," I replied, still perfectly remembering that frosty and cold look...

"Of course, they have a very strong bond from what Camilla told me, I'm not surprised that they have reconciled so quickly, I think it's also the impression of Blu's parents that confirmed my certainties, Blu has really good parents who don't hesitate to teach him the basics of education and respect for others." My wife added

"We did the same thing too, am I right?" I said, bursting into laughter. "Rather, I'm worried about our daughter's behavior, lately I hear her cry in her room... I'd love to help her but I don't know how. I've never been good at showing my tender side to her... you think that I'm too serious and tough with her? "I asked my wife while doubts tormented and assaulted my head, not making me relax.

"Well, you're the only man in our family... you're the one who always protected us in times of trouble... you're the one we knew we could always lean on... you're not too hard on our daughter, it's more like you aren't the guy who easily show affection to others birds." My wife said, struggling to express her thought. "The fact is that you are witty, joyful, funny but when you are too affectionate, it seems that you aren't yourself... obviously with me it is different, we have been married for years and I know your personality very well but what I have just told you is what our daughter revealed to me years ago. She considers you like a kind giant. She was still a child when she told me, but I think that she already had an idea about you even though she was still very young."

"I understand, in fact, I always thought that many times I was too detached from her, many times it was as if I were there with her but I didn't take that step to make her even happier and make that memory be impressed forever in her archive of happy memories of her childhood... it was as if I made her happy only halfway and not fully... like that time when I accompanied her to the volleyball match, I cheered for her and nothing more, I saw the other parents giving kisses to the cheek their children... but I couldn't, I really care about our daughter but I don't know why I cannot make these simple gestures that should come to me automatically as a father..."

"Each of us is special in its own way, there is no perfection as I am not perfect myself, you have many other qualities, don't focus only on your defects, focus on your strengths points and how you could improve yourself, you are on the right track because you are aware of being able to do more and that cannot help but make me even happier." My wife replied, smiling at me.

"You always have the right phrase ready for every situation..." I said bursting into laughter with her.

We remained in our positions, side by side as the world around us didn't stop moving, it was a very difficult time for both our families but despite this, we didn't stop fighting, in my spare time, sometimes I went to find John at his library, with time we had spent together, we become more and more close friends, he was that kind of bird that you couldn't help but like him...

Camilla was more than happy about my surprise visits and she confessed to me that John for a while he had fallen into the abyss of depression but apparently things were getting better. I don't know if my wife knows it but I always keep a watchful eye on our daughter, hearing her crying was heartbreaking and I wanted so much to do something to cheer her up... I also pushed Roberto and her friends to try to help her, I'm glad that today they were finally able to drag her out of that shell that she created to escape from her problems and uncertainties.

Soon it was night, while many families gathered at the table for the last moment of the day, I was in the kitchen, surrounded by my employees as I finished my last reconnaissance tour to make sure everything was okay. "Guys, I want all of you to work as usual, no tolerance for any kind of error or imperfection, I ask you nothing but perfection itself, have we understood each other?" I asked my staff, trying to remind each of them of giving their best.

"Yes, sir!" They answered in a chorus and then immediately returned to their positions.

"Great," I said and then took a peek at the hall. I saw that it was slowly filling up while my sister and daughter were starting to take customer orders. Many voices finally gave life to our restaurant, populating our tables while they couldn't wait to try my dishes.

"Ok guys, the orders are comin-" I couldn't finish the sentence as my face received a blows from the door that I had in front of me, the pain pervaded my body making me lower to the ground to try to contain myself from the emitting any sound could scare customers behind that door that separated the two worlds of my restaurant.

"Here are your orders!" A joyous and at the same time familiar voice said as she entered the kitchen, releasing an admirable energy.

"Honey, what are you doing there on the ground? And why are you covering your beak?!" My wife asked, amused as she helped me get up.

"Why do you think I'm reduced to this state? Next time try to open the door with more kindness or check before if there's nobody behind it. We have placed a small window for this purpose, to avoid this kind of accidents." I replied while I stroked my beak.

I heard laughter among the various birds behind me, I didn't tolerate rudeness at all and they should know it better than anyone else. "Shut your beak and get ready to serve customers' dishes!" I screamed to restore order. Nobody objected and they immediately ran to prepare the dishes, after having recovered from my outburst of emotions, I returned to my position, restoring my role as head chef of the kitchen.

It was a really hard role, not only I had to do my job but I had to give some tips and opinions on the work of others, I demanded the perfection so I shouldn't be surprised if they messed something up... "Sir, is this dish is fine for you?" A cook asked as he showed the dish he had prepared.

"Can't you see that fingerprint (feather print) on that side of the plate? Clean it as fast as you can and immediately send that plate out, once done, start to prepare the next dish." I said, immediately returning to the pot that I had in front of me.

"Sir, does the meat seem to you cooked enough?" Another cook asked as she approached me.

"Insert the thermometer and check its internal temperature, if it is too low, put it back on the grill to cook it fully," I answered as I turned off the stove and poured the contents of the pot onto a plate next to me.

"Sarah, the plate of table four is ready!" I said, drawing my wife's attention and immediately bringing out the plate. I turned to see how the other cooks were with the preparations of the other tables, they all worked hard but that didn't mean they didn't make mistakes.

"Stop, you haven't added the side dish to that dish, hurry up to remedy your mistake before they send that dish into the hall," I said, immediately correcting the cook's mistake next to me. Every day always the same story, I would really like that they put more effort and passion for what they are doing... I was putting my face and name on every dish that came out in the hall, every dish sent back was a defeat for the kitchen. Everything was going on as it should go until my wife rushed into the kitchen with a plate in her hand.

"Honey, the customer says he ordered medium cooked steak but he received an overcooked one." My wife said, placing the plate on the table.

I went to check the plate, it was undoubtedly overcooked, I turned to face Mark, who was responsible for cooking the meat, I complained and asked for more seriousness on his part. When I finished, I turned my gaze back to my wife. "Tell the customer that we are very sorry and that we will immediately prepare a new dish for him."

My wife nodded and then went out of the kitchen, I sighed, although I committed as much as I could to create dishes as close as possible to perfection, I couldn't fully avoid to let some imperfect dishes to slip out of the kitchen, I was well aware of that but I was sure that with a little more attention, mistakes like that could have been avoided.

"Honey, table six are complaining that they haven't yet received their starters, however, they have already been served the main courses!" My wife said.

"What?! It's impossible... how did they not receive their starters? I have marked here that their dishes have been sent out..." I replied, checking the orders I had in front of me several times.

"You two, stop working on that plate and concentrate on preparing those starters for table six, I'll take care of what you were doing," I said, hurrying to reach the pan that was now unattended to finish the preparation while I checked from time to time the other two cooks working on others dishes.

"Honey, you go to the customer and inform them that it will take about 10 minutes for their dishes to be ready, try to make them as comfortable as possible," I said and then immediately received a warm smile from my wife.

"Yes, sir!" She said jokingly and then left the kitchen. More laughter came for the kitchen but this time I didn't stop them, a too tense environment will only bring unnecessary stress and haste that would have led to other errors. "Ok guys, it's enough, now focus again on what you are doing, we are already at two errors for today and it is useless to tell you that I am more than angry about it," I said, re-establishing order in the kitchen.

For the rest of the evening things went well, we speeded up the speed with which the dishes came out without giving up quality, now only a couple of tables were missing and then we could finally breathe a sigh of relief. "Honey, table eight has already finished eating and has already left the restaurant, why did you prepare this dish?" My wife asked while holding a plate between her wings.

"Impossible, I can accept that I've skipped a customer order or made a small mistake but never a mistake like that." I retorted and then checked the orders again.

"Has table seven already finished or they are still in the restaurant?" I asked as I carefully read what was in front of me.

"They are still in the restaurant." My wife replied, after giving a quick glimpse of the hall.

"But they must have already finished a couple of minutes ago! Did you give the plate of table seven to table eight?!" I asked, more and more angry about these trivial mistakes that they were committing. My wife was left speechless, she had no idea how such a thing could have happened, I quickly shook my head to regain my lucidity and presented myself at table seven to apologize with their plate between my wings.

The evening finally ended without other problems, after having made a lecture to all the employees on today's mistakes, none of them objected. "Who among you had the responsibilities of table eight?" I asked, addressing the hall staff.

"Me..." I heard a female voice and a wing raised between the group of employees in front of me.

"Jewel ?!" I said extremely surprised to learn that she was the one who had delivered the plate of table seven to table eight. "Do you have any idea that you handed the plate of another table to yours?" I asked as I didn't change my tone at all even though she was my daughter. I didn't show any preference to anyone inside the restaurant, a mistake remains a mistake, just because she was my daughter didn't mean that she was exempt from scolding, there was my credibility as head chef at stake.

"I didn't notice it at first since they had ordered the same dishes, but after I had talked to mom, I understood my mistake..." She said, lowering her head.

"All right, we'll talk about it at home," I said, turning my gaze toward the whole staff in front of me. "You all can go home and try not to repeat the same mistakes of today," I said dissolving the meeting between the employees, once all the staff had left the restaurant, I prepared together with my wife to close the restaurant.

* * *

 **This is the first part of chapter 13 since it was 12k long... the wisest thing to do was to split it in half, the next chapter shouldn't come out too late, it should only be a matter of days and not weeks. You will find the original AN in the next chapter.**

 **As you have seen, I decided to go into the details of another character's life, as long as I have ideas and motivation, I will try to bring more points of view from several people (Birds in this case). Speaking of points of view, the next chapter will contain the POV of a character who has been decidedly neglected throughout this story and who has appeared no more than 3 times throughout the story.**

 **I will make an introduction to his life and his family (Big clue), I would be really curious if you all will be able to guess who I'm talking about and for those who are worried about Blu, to be honest, chapter 13 had to contain a piece entirely dedicated to him, but as you know, because of the length of the chapter, I had to break it in two.**

 **I really regretted having published long chapters in the past, I realized too late that it was too hard for new readers to read a chapter of 14k words in a session, the best choices I could've made was to split it in half like this chapter. But now, I cannot do anything about it, to separate it I should delete the recent chapters and therefore all the reviews that were on those chapters will no longer make sense.**

 **In my future stories (if there will be!), The dosage of the length of the chapters will surely be one of the things that I will pay more attention, I apologize for the delay of the chapters but this is my first experience in writing fanfiction, it is absolutely not an easy task to write constantly enough content every week and then publish the chapters, I will try to be as constant as possible but unfortunately I can't promise it.**

 **~Fenix139**


	14. Shattered Memories Part 3

**Eduardo POV**

* * *

-Shattered Memories part 3

It had been an undoubtedly very busy day, _'Fortunately, not every day was like this,'_ I thought to myself as we approached closer and closer to home, although it wasn't a bad thing to have many customers in one evening, I had to admit that it was really a too big physical and mental effort to be able to work every day at these rhythms.

During the journey toward our house, there weren't many chats among us. In the silence that was in my car, I was thinking about how to approach my daughter, she wasn't the bird who make mistakes like that... but at the same time, the fact that it was my daughter who committed the mistake, it didn't mean that her mistake could be neglected without having any consequences.

We reached home after not so long, I was so tired that I sank into the sofa closing my eyes for a moment, I stretched out my body while my wings fell on the cushions of the sofa now under me. I had always wondered how long I would be able to last at this rate, _'Perhaps, by hiring a chef capable enough to run the whole kitchen could help me?'_ I thought as I heard my wife conversing with my daughter.

"Dad, you wanted to talk to me?" Jewel asked while she approached me.

I lazily opened my eye to look at her, she clearly had a guilty face, although I was very angry at the mistake she had made, she reminded me so much of Sarah and scolding her was like doing the same thing to my wife... "Yes, Jewel... I just wanted to tell you to stay more focused on work when you're at the restaurant, a mistake on your part compromises the entire hard work of all the other employees, fame and reputation is almost everything in the restaurant's world, we cannot afford to get us labeled as a disorganized restaurant."

"I know, Dad... it's that I'm going through a really rough time, I feel more and more distracted and I can't stop thinking about him..." She said, lowering her head.

"Jewel, during our life, you have to know how to move forward, you cannot always live in the past, those who persist in living in the past will never survive in the future, try to understand it..." I replied rubbing my eyes from fatigue as I was trying my best to stay awake.

"Are you telling me that I must forget about Blu?" She asked, changing her tone of voice. I suddenly coughed as soon as I heard those words, I looked up to cross my sight with her to make sure she was serious at that time. There was no doubt... that look... those turquoise eyes... "What?! I didn't mean that but at the same time..." I stammered, not knowing how to choose the right words to use at that moment.

I didn't mean to ask her to erase Blu from her life but at the same time... it was what I wanted to ask her to do... it was an extremely convoluted thing to say and think but... if forgetting for a moment the conditions of Blu meant that she would be calmer and less stressed... then that was what I wanted her to do...

"I can't believe what I'm hearing, dad! I thought you liked Blu! How can you tell me something like that!" She said, raising her tone of voice.

"First of all, don't raise your voice when you talk to me, second, I didn't tell you to delete Blu from your and our life, I only asked you to not think about him for a while and hope that everything will be resolved," I said, starting a race of who could keep the serious look longer than the other.

"Blu would never have dreamed of saying such words if someone else in our family was in the same condition as him," She replied.

"What do you want to tell me with this? I'm only acting for your own good, if forgetting for a moment of him can help you be more relaxed and less stressed, then I want you to do it, it's for your own good, Jewel!" I replied, more and more irritated by her behavior.

She said nothing else and went upstairs locking her bedroom door. Leaving me confused and astonished about how such an innocent discussion, intent on lifting her mood and emotionally helping her, could cause so much unforeseen damage. We didn't fight often since when she started going out with Blu, our quarrels had come down almost to zero...

It was obvious that the presence of Blu made her extremely happy but... now, if thinking about him makes her suffer... was it really too much to ask her to forget him to help her get better? The more I thought about it, the more it became more complicated and intricated, my brain was definitely not ready to tackle that subject after such an evening...

"I heard your conversation, honey..." My wife said, sitting next to me.

"If you're going to lecture me, do it now, I'm too tired to start another conversation like the one that just happened with our daughter," I replied, relaxing on the couch while I covered my eyes with a wing to protect them from blinding light of the light bulb that currently illuminated the room in which I was.

"I know you're tired so I won't waste too much of your time with my talks, get upstairs in our room to rest while I try to reason with our daughter, you deserve a little 'rest after a tiring day like today." She said, helping me get up from the sofa, I didn't add anything else, I immediately went into my room and then collapsed on the bed. I heard some giggles from my wife but ignored everything, I had no strength or motivation to start a conversation with her that I sank into the dream world, hoping to find some peace and a quiet place since this world did nothing but stress and tire me.

* * *

It wasn't long before my sleep was disturbed by the sound of a door being closed, there was no doubt about who did it, judging by how she tried to make the least noise possible. "Sarah, you don't have to try to walk on tiptoe, I'm already awake..." I said, not opening my eyes at all and remaining motionless in the position where I was lying on the bed.

"You could at least put on your pajamas." She answered, sitting next to me.

"So, tell me, how did it go?" I asked, trying to get out of bed and following the advice suggested by my wife.

"Our daughter is a very smart girl, you just need to give her some advice and she immediately grabs the message," My wife replied, getting comfortable on the bed and slipping under the bed sheets.

"You make it seem too easy..." I said, rolling my eyes as I saw her mischievous smile.

"Because it's really easy, this is something that only mother and daughter could understand."

"So... no grudges I hope, right?" I asked as soon as I finished changing my clothes and giving a quick glance in her direction.

"No, I even told her about her birth..." She added, looking at me with particular attention as if she already knew that this would lead to a long conversation between the two of us.

"Why did you do that? I thought we had an agreement to keep it hidden from her!" I immediately replied, definitely surprised that the secret we had kept hidden for years was now unveiled.

"Honey... she had to know it sooner or later... and then, telling this little story to our daughter, opened her eyes and she reevaluated about your behavior." She said, trying to justify herself in the best way she could.

"The last thing I want is to make her feel guilty about what happened..." I replied, starting to walk nervously around the room as I tried to figure out what was the best approach to take at this time.

"You cannot keep it hidden forever, after all, everything went well, right?" She said, smiling at me as she got up from the bed and approached me, putting a wing on my shoulder and trying to calm me down.

"Yes, but... I don't want to remember that day and that choice... I hope that no father is forced one day to choose between his wife or his daughter..."

"I know... I have also explained to her that this is the main reason for the fact that she doesn't have any brother or sister..."

"Your birth was supposed to be the most beautiful moment of our life but soon it turned into the exact opposite..."

"Yes... everything was fine until the doctor arrived and told us that there was a risk of losing one between me and our daughter or both..." She said, definitely saddened to remember such a sad moment.

"Having more than one child has always been something I've always wanted but... after your difficult birth, I decided to focus only on the two of you."

"I know... and I think it was the best choice you could have made, even if... I wouldn't have minded having an extra boy or girl in our family." She replied with a little laugh.

"I would play baseball or football whenever I had the chance if I only had a son!" I said, starting to chuckle between myself.

"Well... maybe very soon you can do it..."

"What?! Are you telling me that you're pregnant at this age?" I said, opening widely my beak only at the idea of becoming a father again. _'No, it's impossible,'_ I thought to myself as the rational part of me started working again thanks to the little sleep I had managed to get.

"No. Silly bird, I meant that soon we'll take the next step, it's only a matter of years..." She replied, pointing to a photo she had in her phone, caught by curiosity, I approached her and saw that it was the photo we had taken during the winter holidays together with Blu's family.

"You mean... we'll soon be grandparents?" I said, smiling at my naivety.

"Exactly, we have already done this discussion this morning at the restaurant, we just have to be patient..."

* * *

 **Edwards POV**

Being jostled on the train wasn't the most beautiful thing in the world, but besides I couldn't do much about it... I tried to keep my balance as I was being crushed by several sides, my lungs begged me to get off the train and to take the next one while my brain reminded me that the next train would arrive only 1 hour later.

After all, it was peak time and I knew it way before getting on the train. Over the years, my body had adapted, I could hold my breath longer and I had also developed a strategy to survive as best I could, I purposely put myself into the corners of the train, in such a way to always have a small space in which I could move without giving too much trouble to the birds near me. Many times, I wondered if doing the professor was really what fitted me the most out all the jobs available, after years spent in the marines, returning to life from ordinary birds was an undoubtedly a big change.

I was able to correct most of my students' essays but there are still some left... _'They don't pay me enough for the work I do...'_ I thought to myself with a sigh of resignation as I finally got some breath after most of the birds had got off the train.

Moreover, I didn't live near the school since I had to take the train, I would love to come to school by car but sincerely, in some days, after a long day staying behind hundreds of students, the last thing I wanted to do was to concentrate and drive... Suddenly I felt my phone vibrate, it caught my curiosity, so I pulled it out to read a message from my eldest daughter. It was a message where she greeted me and also added a picture of her and her children.

I couldn't help but smile at the photo, I don't know if she knew about it but... I missed her so much, having to let your children go after years of living together was... difficult... extremely difficult... especially after I promised her that I would have protected her for her whole life and that I would have always remained at her side... Many promises... happy moments, memories and unforgettable adventures that are destined to end sooner or later...

I still remember as if it was yesterday, the day of her birth, her smile as soon as her eyes crossed mine, that strange feeling while I held her for the first time between my wings, those innocent eyes while she discovered for the first time the world around her... Over the years, I had become more and more melancholy... it was a strange thing since I had always wanted to see her grow and become strong to then regret the old moments years later.

She couldn't possibly remain my little princess forever... but at the same time, I wasn't absolutely ready to let her go in this adverse world, full of unexpected events and difficult moments. After all, she had moved across the country to continue her career with her husband. _'I cannot wait to retire and finally enjoy all the time I have left to live...'_ I thought as I finally got off the train.

Christmas was the only day of the year when they came to spend some time with us, and it was also my only time to spend time with my grandchildren. Luckily, I still had my wife and my youngest daughter with me, I had always hated loneliness, after all, with the two of them, you could never and ever get bored.

Speaking of my youngest daughter... I wonder if she was studying, she was a girl definitely too rebellious for my taste, everything I told her to do, she did the exact opposite as if she wanted to spite me... There was an abysmal difference between her and her older sister, many times I wondered if this was because she was jealous of the fact that her sister was extremely bright in everything she did...

She had undoubtedly lived a little under her big sister's shadow, but I had always made sure that she got all the affection she deserved and everything she needed to have a happy childhood. I still don't know exactly what I did wrong or if it was just her personality that was in conflict with mine. I breathed deeply as soon as I arrived in front of my house, the same house for decades, the same tree since the day I bought the house, the same storage room built with my father... in short... home sweet home.

"Honey, I'm home!" I said, coming home after a long day at school, with me, I had dragged a briefcase with all the essays still to be corrected.

"Welcome back dear, how was your day?" My wife asked, sitting next to me while I was relaxing on the couch.

"As usual, they don't pay me enough for the work I do, remember me how many years still remain before my retirement, please..." I said sarcastically as I tried to forget the word school for the rest of the day.

"Come on, are you telling me that you cannot wait to get even older to finally sleep all day?" My wife asked, chuckling as she heard me complaining once again about my job.

"Hey, that doesn't sound a bad idea! That will be exactly the first thing I will do as soon as I begin to get paid for doing nothing all day!" I exclaimed and then burst out laughing with my wife, after several seconds, I realized that someone was missing in the house... "Where is our daughter? Shouldn't she be grounded at home studying?" I asked, looking around the house.

"She went out with her friends, she'll be back before night." She said, reassuring me.

"And who gave her the permission? She should know very well that this is the crucial time to improve the grades she has!" I said, amazed once again by my daughter's behavior.

"She's growing up, you'll never be able to keep her completely under your control, the more you forbade her from seeing or going out with her friends, the more she'll want to go out with them. Come on, it's a very simple thing, surely you'll have understood it, right?" My wife said, giggling.

"Yes... I hate to admit but you're right after all..." I said getting up from the sofa to make myself a cup of coffee, after all... there's a whole evening full of work waiting for me and with the thoughts and ideas of a dozen students... _'Can't wait to work...'_ I thought sarcastically to myself as I drank my coffee.

A couple of hours passed from when I drank that cup of coffee, it was now evening, I was sitting in the living room with my daughter and my wife. While they were watching a horror movie, I was there sitting next to them, correcting all the remaining essays... it was a really tiring job... but by doing this, it gave me the opportunity to better understand my students. Sometimes the essays of my students were able to capture my attention that I could lose the perception of time while at other times, it was torture to go against badly written one without much meaning.

 _'And another is gone'_ I thought to myself after having finished correcting another essay, luckily for me, they weren't long, nobody, for now, had written more than two pages, obviously, if I didn't fix a minimum length, those scoundrels were able to give me a half-page essay...

"Mom, who do you think is the killer's next victim?" My daughter asked, hugging a cushion between herself as she stared intently at the TV screen.

"I have no idea but that scarlet macaw is very suspicious, he's definitely hiding something." My wife answered as she sat with me, holding onto me during the violent scenes.

"The next victim is undoubtedly the pigeon," I replied, raising my eyes to the TV and then returning to my sheets.

"And how do you know if you weren't even following the movie with us?" My daughter asked, skeptical of my opinion as she looked at me with a defiant look.

"She's the typical pigeon with no brain, already for the fact that she hit only once the killer with the baseball bat, to then run away instead of raging and maybe have the chance to overwhelm him, says so much about her intelligence. Not to mention that she's currently hiding inside the closet instead of running out of the window." I answered, giving my daughter a complete answer as she usually likes it.

"We'll see if you're right or not." My daughter said, turning back to the TV.

 _'Let's see who will be my next student...'_ I thought to myself as I moved the corrected essays from one side of the desk to the other to sort them from those still need to be corrected. _'Jewel?! Interesting...'_ I thought as a smile formed on my face, _'Let's see what that girl had invented this time...'_

"AHHH!" My wife cried and then hugged me with all her strength, making fall most of the essays currently on the table to the ground.

"What happened?!" I said, standing up and looking quickly around the living room to see if there were strangers in my house.

"Dad... Mom has been scared because the pigeon has just been cut in two by a cleaver..." My daughter answered, covering herself lightly with her pillow to not witness the macabre scene.

"You really had to specify how she died, right?!" My wife replied, slightly irritated by my daughter's answer.

"See, I was right that the next victim was the pigeon!" I replied, giving a quick look at the TV to see a scene that I would definitely have preferred to not had witnessed it, I immediately turned my gaze as soon as I saw all the entrails and blood around the room.

"It's just me or today's movie likes so much to show in detail how the victims die? During my youth, it was enough a stab or a strangle to change scene immediately, but here, they are spending way too much time on the same scene." I replied, definitely disgusted by the scene I had just seen.

After my wife had calmed down, I finally had the opportunity to resume what I was about to do before being interrupted by her. I resumed the essay of Jewel between my wings, _'A Reason to Live'_... my eyes went wide open in front of that title, _'Well, I see that this time Jewel is very ambitious from what I'm seeing...'_ I thought to myself as I pondered what exactly contained this essay.

To say that I was surprised wasn't enough, the essay was... it didn't seem written by a girl from high school, the main topic was the life and the value to which we give it... definitely, something never seen before in all my years of career as a professor. I couldn't help but smile as my eyes swam between the sea of words written on the paper in front of me. Feelings, reflections, ambitions, emotions, thoughts... there was a bit 'of everything, a mixture of words perfectly stuck to each other on what really is life for the writer of the essay...

"Dad, you've been smiling for too long, you're really scaring me, what are you reading?" My daughter asked as she approached me.

"I'm reading a very interesting essay... do you want me to read a piece to make you understand what it talks about?" I asked, looking at my daughter who in the meantime was literally glued to what I had in my wings.

"Life is strange, it's given to us without a specific reason, we awaken in this world without having a purpose or a goal, we are fragile... defenseless... innocent... and surrounded by things unknown to us. Our only points of reference are usually the first birds we see through our eyes as we watch them welcoming us between their wings, smiling at us while we don't even understand who they were and why they were so happy to see us. Life is like sailing into an unknown and unexplored ocean, we don't know what awaits us, we don't know the dangers and pitfalls along our path, we only know that we will never be alone because there will always be someone or something waiting for us on the other side.

We live every day without knowing if we could do more, without knowing if we have made someone happy thanks to our actions, without knowing if it was a fruitful day or less since we couldn't know what alternatives we had. Time reminds us every day how short our permanence on this planet is, how tiny and small we are compared to everything around us. In fact, we set ourselves goals and purposes during our life to give it meaning and make us believe that we aren't wasting our time...

The truth is that life is too short, when we were children, we hoped to grow as fast as possible and then to inexorably regret our childhood... many birds will never be able to reach and fulfill their dreams, many birds will live in regret and on what they haven't been able to do in their life, many birds will never be able to see the light of the sun... We must be grateful for the possibility we have received and live life as we believe, after all, we have only one chance."

"This is just a piece of what she wrote... I have to admit that it is definitely a long essay..." I said, leafing through several pages full of words and phrases.

"It is undoubtedly an essay with a deep meaning... I wonder what happened to this girl to choose to deal with such a subject..." My wife said, also watching attentively to the paper sheets in front of me.

"Well... a lot has happened to this girl... her boyfriend has been involved in an accident and unfortunately ended up in a coma... this would explain why she decided to write an essay based on life," I replied, receiving consents from the whole family.

After a while, I finished correcting it, but I didn't know what mark to give to her, _'A possible high mark would allow her to access the final exam with almost full scores but I really hope not to boost too much her ego...'_ I thought to myself while I held my pen in my wings, receiving a high score in a short distance from an exam like this could make her believe that now she has no longer any room for improvement... After a few minutes where I was really uncertain about what to do, I decided that the best thing was to sleep and talk to her directly the next day to agree on what to do.

* * *

After almost risked of losing the train and having almost run over a poor student in the street while I was running to don't be late, I had finally reached the school safely, I would have only got Jewel's classroom after a couple of hours later so I didn't have to hurry and I could concentrate on other matters.

The moment I was waiting for finally arrived, I entered Jewel's classroom, as usual, greeted my students and then closed the door behind me.

The class was strangely very quiet, _'Perhaps, did they already know that there was a chance that their essays had been corrected?'_ I thought to myself as I sat on my seat. I first started with the lesson, leaving the surprise as the last thing to do for my today's lesson. The following minutes were devastating for my students, I had almost finished all the topics to be dealt with for their last year, the only big thing left was for them to study by themselves, while I did the dirty work, which means that I must explain once again everything they hadn't understood during my lesson.

"Ok, guys, I think that for today this is enough, I corrected your essays last night and I must say that some of you have really amazed me with great writing skills while others, as usual, will have to commit even more to improve before your fateful day," I said, causing more panic in the class.

It was definitely one of the pros of being the professor, having full control of the mood of the class was many times an extremely interesting thing, seeing how they reacted to every situation with different mood states was very funny. "It is useless to be afraid even before you all have received your essays back, I will call you all one by one, when you hear your name, come here to me," I added and then sat down at my desk.

After naming at least 20 students, I purposely left a very specific name out of my list, I saw Jewel becoming more and more worried after each name I was calling, she was definitely waiting impatiently to hear her name but she didn't know I had something special just for her.

"Professor, you forgot my essay," Jewel said as she saw that I was about to leave the classroom after the bell rang.

I turned around, trying to pretend to be as surprised as possible to her question. "Really?! Come to my office for a moment, I'll try to find your essay there since I hadn't found it at home."

She followed me immediately to my office without adding further words, once we reached our destination, I made her sit down while I closed the door behind us. "You really had a lot of courage to face a topic like life, I think you know very well that if you take another high mark, you would reach the exam with a very high score," I said, sitting down at my desk. As I imagined, she looked at me with a very confused expression, clearly wondering what was happening at that precise moment.

"Professor, but... I thought you had lost my essay and you still hadn't corrected it..."

"I lied, and I did it because I wanted to talk to you about what's happening to you, Jewel," I said, getting a surprised expression from her. "I know very well that you are going through a very difficult period and I wanted to be sure that you are alright, your essay is very... deep, not only with feelings but also with difficult themes hard to treat because they are subjective things, and therefore not everyone can agree with what you wrote."

"Yes professor, I am well aware that I risked a lot but... I learned from a certain bird that many times you have to get out of your comfort zone and experiment. Of course, I was aware of what could happen in the worst case but I decided to risk it anyway. As for me... now I feel much better, I have the full support of my parents and I'm sure that this is more than enough for me to be happy," She answered, fully satisfying my question.

"I think I know who gave you the idea to risk it," I said, letting a smile escape from mine beak. "You are a very gifted girl and risks can make you improve further, but try to fly not too high during the exam, try to stay in the safe zone because it's more than enough for you to pass the exam without much difficulty," I replied. "As for the mark... I was going to discuss it with you but after this conversation... I think you're ready to bear the heavy burden on being the girl with the highest grades in school, it's a big burden remember it! The examiners will expect a lot from you and will have expectations so high that I don't even know if you could realize it... so, are you ready to accept your last challenge in this school?"

She stood for a moment in silence, carefully reflecting what answer to give me, I didn't hasten her in any way, to be considered one of the brightest students in the school was a big headline and if you couldn't meet the expectations of others, it could literally ruin your school career. "Yes professor, I am ready to introduce myself to the exam as one of the best in the school, I have always aimed high for all my 5 years and I'm not going to settle when I can aspire to something bigger," She replied, with a very determined face.

"Excellent answer, I knew that you'll answer in this way, I will cheer for you during the exam, don't disappoint me! Some of your examiners personally know me and as soon as they know you have been recommended by me, they will have no scruples to test your real skills!" I said and then took out her essay from my briefcase, now go, the future is smiling at you, don't give up and you'll see that you'll go very far, Jewel." I added, smiling at her and then letting her reach her classmates.

 _'I really wish him was there with her too... hopefully, he'll soon be back among us, his personality gives that extra touch to his class, without him, it was like losing a key piece to make a car work...'_ I thought as I looked at Jewel smiling at her friends while she showed her mark, I couldn't help but smile at the sight, remembering once again my youth and my childhood dreams as I closed the door behind me.

* * *

 **Third person POV**

Almost a month had passed since that fateful accident, both families did their best to go on with their lives but without forgetting that someone was clearly missing in their life... The hospital was as usual very hectic but the upper floors were the perfect opposite, there reigned silence and tranquility, after all, these floors were the resting place of many patients.

"Can you check the room 226?" A nurse asked her colleague as they walked along the long corridors of the hospital.

"You mean the room with the patient in the coma?" The other nurse asked, trying to remember what room they were talking about.

"Exactly, all you have to do is check if everything is okay and eventually clean the room since as you know, the patient is in a coma." The other nurse answered.

"All right, I'll take care of it, you take care of room 227 then." The nurse said, greeting her colleague as she headed for the room assigned to her. Her steps echoed along the deserted corridors, there was no living soul outside the rooms since it was early in the morning and visitors would only show up a few hours later.

Once in front of the room, she opened the door to be immediately upset by what her eyes showed, the bed was empty while the windows were open. She ran immediately to the window fearing the worst and then heard a voice behind her.

"Who are you?" The voice said, making the nurse jump as her heart pounded faster than ever, she slowly turned her head towards the patient who for weeks she saw him lying on the bed with his eyes closed, but now he was standing and completely conscious...

It was as if she had seen a ghost, her face paled as her body didn't stop trembling from fear, thousands of thoughts and ideas passed through her mind on how to handle such a situation but she decided to follow the simplest path available to her...

"DOCTOR! Someone calls the doctor right away!" The nurse shouted, trying to get the attention of her colleagues.

The blue macaw was extremely confused by all this, for him, his sleep hadn't lasted even one whole day, he had opened the window to change the air while trying to understand why he was in a room unknown to him, the fact that there was a bookcase in his room distracted him so much that he approached it to see what books they contained before the nurse rushed in his room.

Soon his room was flooded with doctors and nurses, each of them rushed to the nurse's aid, fearing that there had been an assault on the part of a patient, as soon as they saw the blue macaw standing and conscious, they were all amazed because the patient was lying on a bed for several weeks and the fact that he had no difficulty in standing up and moving around the room wasn't something to ignore.

They bombarded him with questions, each of them trying to figure out if he was alright and that he hadn't suffered any permanent damage because of the accident, all this continued for several minutes until the director of the floor intervened, he told most of the doctors and nurse to wait outside of the room, so he could be able to calm the patient who was undoubtedly more than confused and scared by what was happening.

"Why am I here?" The blue macaw asked the director while he gave the latest advice to some doctors about what they should do right now.

"Don't you remember about your accident?" The director asked as he walked around the macaw to be sure that everything was alright.

"I don't remember having had any accidents..." The macaw replied, slightly rubbing the feathers of his neck as he tried to rework his last memory.

"Okay, stay in your room, if you need anything you can ask the nurses out here, I'll be soon back at you," The manager said and then greeted the macaw, leaving his room as he walked to his office.

"Director, what should we do with that patient?" Asked the same nurse who had previously sought for help.

"Go and warn his family and gives them the good news that their son finally woke up," The director replied, smiling when he saw the nurse nod and then hurriedly spread the word among her colleagues.

* * *

 **It was quite obvious that I couldn't kill Blu, it didn't make sense to kill him when there was so little left to the end of the story and then... he will have lots of adventures in the future still to be told and discovered. I still have to learn how to let go of my characters when they have to, this story will have no death or disappearance of character but in my next stories... I cannot promise you anything.**

 **Writing is undoubtedly the strangest thing that has ever happened to me, I don't know if I'll ever understand these flashes of genius/ideas that come to me totally randomly and without any warning, it's undoubtedly something that you have to try on your skin to be fully understood. The funny thing was that only two weeks ago, I was going to take a long break as I couldn't stay in front of the computer for more than 5 minutes. After some very interesting films and many hours on the internet, reading ideas etc... I suddenly got the urge to write, stronger than ever.**

 **Within two days, I wrote an entire chapter of more than ten thousand words, devoting about 2 to 3 hours a day to write... I want, first of all, thank JAVI7788 for his review, it's always nice to see new faces in the reviews section. If you want, you could write a review in your mother tongue language, Spanish and Italian are in some ways very similar, I'm quite sure that I would be able to understand what you want to say even without translating your review. Of course, I also want to thank all my others reader, from those who left a review for my chapters to those who added this story to their favorite and followed one, thank you very much.**

 **As always, even this chapter was inspired by a song, now I finally understood that the best way to make me write is to find a song that I like and that has a meaning behind its lyric, for those of you who want to know the title of the song, "Lukas Graham - 7 Years."**

 **~Fenix139**


	15. Future

**Third person POV**

* * *

-Future

On the other side of the city, where the sun had risen not so long ago, its rays were slowly warming up the houses and the streets after the cold evening. Two blue macaws were busy tidying up the books that were still in disarray. After all, It had become a morning ritual for them. The city was slowly awakening, filling the previously deserted streets with voices and populating the streets once again.

"John! I think we're done, could you open the door so we can let our first customers in?" the female blue macaw asked, turning to her husband who was busy updating and adding the last books arrived on their computer.

"Okay, as soon as you're done, can you take a look upstairs?" her husband said, getting closer to the library door with keys between his wings.

Once he approached the door, he recognized some faces of some of the library's regular customers. As their eyes met, John couldn't help smiling and welcoming their first customers of the day. A sudden noise took them by surprise, attracting their attention. It was an unmistakable noise, a noise that meant nothing more than a phone call.

"John! Go and answer the phone!" his wife said, slightly irritated by the incessant noise coming from downstairs.

Her husband sighed as soon as he heard his wife's request, he wasted no time and ran to answer the phone. "The Blue Macaw Library, how can we help you?" The blue macaw said as he waited to hear the other bird's voice.

His serious expression crumbled like a dry autumn leaf, it slowly disappeared and was immediately replaced by an incredulous look as he listened carefully to the words being told to him. A few seconds later, he ended his call and ran towards his wife's direction, not caring about the lack of professionalism he was showing as he ignored a customer's question. "Camilla! Follow me, we must close the library right now!" her husband said, quickly climbing the stairs.

His wife pretended to not hear her husband's request, continuing to do the work she was doing when she was suddenly grabbed by his wings.

"Didn't you hear what I told you?" her husband repeated, trying to cross his gaze with his wife's.

"What are you saying?! We've just opened!" his wife replied, she was uncertain if her husband was okay that she put a wing on his forehead to make sure he didn't have a fever or something else.

"What are you doing?! Go and turn off the lights, we have to go right now!" her husband repeated, pulling away from his wife's wing as he slowly backed away to get a little distance from her.

"There are already some customers inside the library, are you going to drive them out one by one?" his wife asked sarcastically as she grew more and more worried minute by minute. She saw a mischievous smile forming on her husband's face that made her shiver and immediately regret what she had just said to him.

"Oh ... no John ... don't tell me that you want to..." his wife slowly said, shaking her head several times in disappointment as she watched her husband quickly ran down the stairs and heading to the customers who were inside the library.

"I apologize so much with all of you, but today we had an unexpected event, we have to close the library right now and maybe we will open it later!" her husband said, raising his voice and inviting customers to leave the library.

"What are you doing?! I was joking when I told you to drive them out one by one!" His wife said, unable to believe what she was witnessing at the time.

"Blu has woken up." her husband firmly said, his wife's eyes widened as she stood still without moving a muscle, only a few seconds passed that she immediately changed her personality and ran to some customers who had gone deeper into the library.

"I'm very sorry but we have to close, come back later or tomorrow!" she said, urging them out of the library. Her husband remained where he was, smiling as he witnessed this drastic change from his wife. In a few minutes, everyone was out of the library except for the two of them.

"John! Why didn't you tell me before that our son woke up?!" her wife asked him, giving a defiant look in the direction of her husband.

"Stop talking and turn off the lights, we need to get to the hospital as soon as possible," her husband answered and then taking the car keys. It wasn't long before they both left for the hospital, they didn't drive too fast even if that was really what they wanted to do in that moment.

They didn't want to be too reckless, especially now that their son was awake, they couldn't afford to swap places with him. They arrived at the hospital and immediately ran up the stairs avoiding the elevator, they had never run faster than that as they both quivered with the desire to see their son awake and conscious.

Once they reached the room, they stopped in front of it as they looked at each other before entering. "Are you ready?" her husband asked, his wing trembled as he held the door handle and tried to catch his breath.

"Yes..." his wife answered back, panting while with her wing, she wiped sweat from her forehead. They both took a deep breath and opened the door, what they saw was a room with an empty bed and for a second, they were extremely confused by what their eyes showed. They entered anyway, thinking that their son was currently doing some check-up when a voice broke the silence in the room.

"Can I help you?" a male voice asked. That voice caused chills at both adult macaws who made a small leap and then finally turned around; in front of their eyes was their son, he was currently sitting on a sofa while he was holding a book between his wings. Both macaws remained open-mouthed, not knowing what to say and what to do at that precise moment.

John was about to speak when his wife anticipated him, overtaking him and dashing towards their son and hugging him as hard as she could, he wanted to stop her but then thought better, he knew how much she had suffered for what had happened to their son. Not to mention all her visits and speeches made with their son.

"Blu... we missed you..." Camilla said tearfully as she felt for the first time in weeks, her son's voice. Even though her husband had told her that their son was awake, inside her there was still left a very small doubt, a doubt that tormented her and made her doubt whether she was dreaming or not.

John did nothing but stay behind them, smiling and wiping a tear while he was watching the scene. He had remained strong, remembering again the role he had in the family, he knew that the bond that united them was very strong and that everything would be fine.

He did not remember ever having felt a happiness comparable to what he was feeling at that time. Perhaps the only thing that came closest was during the birth of his son he thought while with his eyes, he witnessed a real miracle in front of him. "Blu... don't you ever dare to leave us like this," John said, trying to pretend to be annoyed.

Their son remained impassive, although the two macaws weren't entirely unknown to him, his mind couldn't connect their faces with the memories that remained to him. "Um... excuse me but... do we know each other?" he asked after Camilla finally let him go from her iron grip.

Those words froze both macaws, the cries and smiles were immediately replaced by confusion and amazement. They expected everything from their son, from a joke to one of his typical apologies but never a question about who they were. Their thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps outside their room.

A crow entered their room with a folder full of papers between his wings, once entered the room, he looked up and found three blue macaws in front of him, at the beginning, he was going to ask who they were and what they were doing here but after he narrowed his eyes, it was clear to him that they were the patient's parents.

"Excuse me if I interrupted your conversation, I'm Dr. Jacob, I was told that two macaws had rushed into the hospital causing panic on the lower floors, do any of you know anything about them?" the crow asked, looking directly at the adult macaws.

John and Camilla exchanged quick glances and nodded a few seconds later. "No, we arrived here several minutes ago," John replied, not blinking and keeping eye contact. Jacob was clearly doubtful of his words but didn't insist, he merely leafed through the papers while trying to find the patient's name.

"You are Blu's parents, aren't you?" Jacob asked after reading the patient's name and checking his medical record.

"Yes, my name is John and I am his father while she is Camilla, my wife and consequently Blu's mother," John replied, approaching the crow and shaking his wing.

"You two are my parents?" Blu asked, getting up from the sofa and approaching the three birds that were in his room.

"Stop joking, Blu. We were really worried about you and certainly this isn't the welcome we expected after seeing you for the first time after weeks," Camilla replied, giving a dirty look to her son. Blu was frightened and moved slightly away from her. This sudden movement from his son astonished Camilla who stood still as she looked intensely straight at her hazel eyes.

"Forgive him, from what I'm reading, he lost a part of his memory, the blow he suffered that night, unfortunately, hit a specific point of his head causing the loss of memory," Jacob said while trying to calm the two macaws. John and Camilla looked at each other with surprised looks and then immediately looked in the direction of Blu who, immediately receiving the glances of both his parents, tried to look away with a forced smile.

"So... he doesn't remember who we are for him anymore?" Camilla asked, shivering slightly as she looked back at the doctor who in the meantime carefully watched the patient's behavior to note even the smallest significant detail on his sheet.

"Exactly, he doesn't remember the incident and now we have the confirmation that he doesn't even remember his parents, most likely the blow must have hit the part of his head where he keeps his memories..." Jacob answered, to then started writing something on his sheet.

John, who hadn't yet talked to his son till that moment, approached him as Blu backed up to then slam into the sofa he was sitting on before all these birds entered, his hazel eyes struggled to keep contact with those icy blue eyes of his father. Although he felt very uncomfortable, a part of him kept telling him that the look wasn't new to him and that he had seen it before.

After a few seconds, they were a few inches from each other, Blu swallowed at the sight of the macaw that was supposed to be his father at a distance so close to him. "Don't you remember me and your mother? Not even a memory of the past in which I and she were there?" his father asked calmly as he didn't look away from his son.

Blu struggled to find the right words to say at that moment, after taking some courage, he said that it wasn't that he had completely lost his identity but it was that he could no longer associate the faces of his parent to the faces that were in his memories. Whenever he tried to think of something that had happened in the past, he saw nothing but black and anonymous faces.

The crow carefully noted everything while Blu spoke, marking every single detail, after doing so, he waved goodbye to the family of blue macaws and then momentarily left them to consult with his colleagues. There was silence inside the room, the two adult macaws were immersed in their thoughts while Blu didn't know if he was dreaming or not.

He had so many questions to ask but, seeing the two macaws with such a disappointed and sad expression did nothing but make him feel even guiltier. "Mom, Dad, I'm sorry..." was all he could say trying to remove the weight from his chest.

"Sorry for what?" both asked, surprised by the words they had just heard.

"Sorry for not remembering about both of you..." Blu replied in a very embarrassed way.

"Don't talk nonsense, it's not your fault if you've lost your memory, and then... you saved my life..." replied his father.

"What happened to me?"

"It's a long story... Honey, can you warn Blu's friends and Jewel's family? I am sure they will jump with joy as soon as they know that Blu has awakened." John asked, receiving a smile from his wife.

"Jewel? I already heard this name... Is she my friend?"

"Uhm... we have to talk about many things, son..." his father said, taking a long sigh as he prepared to tell all he could to his son.

* * *

A few hours passed, while the parents of Blu tried to tell in detail all his life, suddenly there was a lot of noise coming from the corridor outside the room. "Hey! You can't run in the corridor!" a female voice shouted in the distance.

They were all three perplexed by that strange warning but their perplexity didn't last long, suddenly the door opened wide and a female blue macaw entered in the room. What Blu felt was indescribable, as their eyes met, it was as if he was struck by a lightning, thousands of memories emerged from his head as he struggled to remember the name of the bird in front of him.

He had felt the same sensation when his parents had come but with the bird in front of him... it was different... he didn't have time to talk that was immediately overwhelmed by a suffocating embrace from the blue macaw that had just entered the room. "Jewel! I know you're happy to see our son again but, please be nicer..." Camilla begged as she didn't know whether to separate them away by force or leave them alone.

Jewel loosened her grip and then poured several tears from her turquoise eyes, she immediately dried them but it was useless, she just couldn't stop crying. "You don't know how long I've waited to see you awake..." she replied. Blu, in the meantime, he was confused, she couldn't be one of his friends thought to himself as he tried to catch his breath.

"You're Jewel, aren't you?" he managed to ask after several seconds.

"Of course, I'm Jewel, silly bird," she replied, keeping herself from laughing. "So, it's true... you lost your memory?" she asked after finally calming herself down.

"Yes... unfortunately I don't remember much of my past..."

"It doesn't matter, I'm happy to see you again..." Jewel reassured him, showing a smile full of sincerity.

Not long after, the room was filled with numerous birds, from Jewel's parents to his friends and some schoolmates, although he lost a part of his memory, none of them treated him differently than they did in the past. For them, he remained the usual Blu. It quickly got late and soon everyone was forced to leave the room to allow him to rest.

Although it had been a very stressful day, he wasn't tired, in fact, he was happy and delighted to know that there were so many people waiting for him when he woke up. His parents had told him so much of his life and his passions as a writer. Despite being happy, he couldn't say he wasn't saddened by the fact that he had lost part of his identity.

"It was a very busy day, right?" the same doctor of this morning asked him, entering his room after reassuring the patient's parents once again.

"Yes ... I still struggle to believe I didn't recognize my parents, my friends and so on..." Blu replied, giving a quick glance out the window with a clear hint of melancholy in his eyes. Despite his many smiles and laughter showed today, he felt lost inside him. He had lost what was most precious to him, his memories. After all, how can you blame him? Waking up in a world that was no longer familiar to him, surrounded by many known faces, or at least that was what his brain told him as soon as he saw his parents. Moreover, these familiar faces insisted on knowing about him better than himself, was it really possible? He wondered as he no longer knew where to lay his gaze.

"I know it's hard to accept to not remember such important birds in your life. However, I think you can recover your memories through objects or places you've already been," the doctor said as he reread some of his previously written notes, taken while he conversed with his parents. "I know that your parents weren't complete strangers to you, you could see that there was something different from birds like me, who we meet only for the first time ever."

"Yes, as soon as I looked at them, I immediately had flashbacks of blurred memories where I couldn't really understand what they meant to me."

"As I imagined," Jacob said and then sat down next to the sofa where I was sitting. "I am convinced that with a little help, you can recover part of your memories but nevertheless, this doesn't mean that you will be the same again. You will most likely make different choices than you would do with all your past memories but that doesn't change the fact that you'll always be Blu."

"Thank you for all the trust on me... it's quite shocking to discover that you know so little about yourself, I only discovered today that I am a writer and that I will have to attend a fair in a few months to publish my latest book."

"I don't know if you can participate at that fair, it would be a miracle if you could recover the lessons lost to graduate but obviously it isn't for me to decide."

"Yes, that's what I thought too, I think it's better to focus on something else than a book fair, I can always publish it later but now I have more important things to think about."

"Remind me to ask your parents about your personality before the accident, I'm curious to know if you were like this before," the crow said giggling as he got up from the couch. "I have other patients who are waiting for me, rest well and don't strain yourself too much on remembering the past. It's not important who you've been yesterday but who you'll be tomorrow," Jacob said and then left his room.

Blu remained motionless while thinking about the words of Jacob, who he wanted to become? What did he really want to do in his life? He wondered it among himself. He thought once again of what had happened today, his parents, his friends, and the family of Jewel... He decided it was useless to think about it so much for today and that it was better to go to bed.

* * *

 **~Few months later...**

Months have passed since that day; many things had happened and many still need to happen. Today was a day of celebration for our friends, they were currently in the backyard of the family of Blu, on the table were present all his friends, including some friends of Jewel like Roberto, Mary, and Sofia. That morning the results of their exams had come out and needless to say, they all passed, there were those who did the minimum to pass the exam and those who stunned the entire commission of professors.

"Come on! Don't be shy!" John said, holding a mug full of beer in his wing as he tried to give life to that table full of familiar faces.

"Honey, remember your promise you made to me last night..." his wife retorted, closing her eyes momentarily as she took a sigh of resignation.

"Today we celebrate! A toast for our newly graduates!" John added, lifting his mug to the sky trying to involve the birds sitting at the table. Numerous birds followed his initiative, toasting their drinks for finally been able to reach a milestone in their lives.

"So Blu, what are you going to do now?" Rebecca asked, starting a conversation with Blu who was sitting next to her.

"Right! You reminded me of something I have to say to you all," Blu answered, grabbing a fork with his wing and gently hitting it on the glass to get everyone's attention. Soon, everyone turned their heads in his direction, curious to find out the reason for his gesture.

"Excuse me but I have a thing to tell you all. As you already know, I will be attending the Minnesota book fair in a few weeks," Blu said, receiving numerous smiles from his audience. "Well, I decided to retire myself from the fair," Blu added, surprising the whole table, creating a light chatter among the birds.

"Blu... why this drastic change of idea? Did something happen?" his mother asked with a worried face.

"Said frankly, I'm not in the mood to attend the fair after what happened to me, I recently rediscovered who I was before my accident and I want to spend more time with my family and focus on the university that will be my next objective."

"Are you sure about what are you saying Blu? I thought it meant a lot for you to participate at the fair to publish your book..." Jewel asked, undoubtedly shocked by the words she had just heard.

"Yes, I thought about it for a long time. From the day I left the hospital, I focused on regaining my memories, to my great effort to achieve my diploma... I decided that the best choice to do for now is to build the foundations for my future, I will publish my book on another occasion, I have already talked to my publisher and he supports my decision," Blu said and then sat down again on his chair.

"If that's what you really want to do, that's fine for me, I have to admit that you've had some changes since that day but you're still a cautious bird that thinks before acting," Blu's father said and then poured another mug of beer down his throat.

"Hey! You said it was the last one!" Camilla shouted, and then took the mug from her husband's wing. Sparking a conflict between the two.

While the two adult macaws were quarreling, Blu's friends were surprised to see Jewel's friends with a calm expression after the words of Blu, they were almost completely certain that they were unaware of Blu's secret but they had reacted as if they already knew everything. "Guys... aren't you surprised to know that Blu is a writer?" Rebecca asked, looking in the direction of Roberto, Mary and Sofia.

"Blu isn't just a writer, he is the writer! Or better, T. Gunderson," Mary replied, trying to keep herself from laughing.

"If you're wondering how we know all this, just know that it was Blu himself who confessed his secret," Roberto added and then looked in the direction of Blu.

"Yes, I didn't know that they didn't know anything about the fact that I was a writer, you had to see their faces as soon as they found out about it!" Blu said, bursting a laugh between his friends.

Jewel, who in the meantime had remained silent, she was the one who had suffered the biggest shock among the birds present that day, she didn't understand why Blu had given up everything within a few weeks of his initial goal, Blu had confessed in the past that it was her who managed to persuade him to write again, to not to give up on what he had started years ago.

"Blu... Are you absolutely sure of your decision?" Jewel asked, with clearly a doubtful tone as she searched for her boyfriend's gaze.

"I knew that you would be a lot harder to convince than the others," he said, and then smiled in her direction.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked, slightly cocking her head as she looked at him.

"You know that I'm not a perfect stranger among the writers... I'm going to go to the university because I want to have the best chance to find a great job in the future, don't get me wrong, I'm not going to stop writing, it's just that I prefer to always have a backup plan for every eventuality."

"You mean in case your books aren't successful?" she asked.

"Exactly and then... I don't want to be chased by people on the street or treated better because I'm T. Gunderson, I don't know if you understand me... I'm not ready to give up my private life yet. Thanks to the help of you and my parents, I recovered most of my memory through photos and significant objects of my life, just as the doctor had told me."

"I see... I hadn't thought about that, forgive me for my stupid question," Jewel said, showing again her smile that had managed to bewitch Blu since their first meeting.

"As I imagined, you never cease to amaze me, just like your essay during the exam," Rafael said, patting Blu's shoulder and unexpectedly sending him to the ground.

"I remember the face of the professor while he read his theme, he kept asking Blu if he had already written something in the past because he had somehow recognized the writing of T. Gunderson," Rebecca said, joining Rafael in helping Blu to get up from the ground.

"Just imagine if he really exposed Blu's secret identity, his current plan would have gone up in smoke!" Roberto exclaimed.

* * *

 **~Five Years Later...**

It had been five years since that day, many leaves had fallen from the tree in the backyard of the family of Blu and just as many had grown back, the seasons passed while they covered their previous footsteps left by themselves when they were younger. In short, many things had undoubtedly happened in this great period of time. The main events were the graduation day for Blu and all his friends. Immediately after graduation, he continued his studies and was able to graduate after a few years at the university in literature. On the advice of his parents and friends, he finally published his book, this time without hiding his name.

Needless to say, he was immediately swamped by offers and contracts from various publishers on his future books. He finally decided to embark on a career as a writer, succeeding at the same time to become independent and move to a larger city. His relationship with Jewel seemed indestructible that lasted so long that she went to live with him.

As for their friends, each of them had gone their own way, some stayed in Moose Lake and others looking for luck elsewhere. Although they were no longer together as they once did, they stayed in touch, never forgetting their adventures and their discussion about their future.

* * *

"Wake up, darling," John heard a voice in the distance, echoing through his head but he couldn't tell from which direction it came.

"Wake up!" he heard the same voice again but this time more clearly, it was familiar, but he still couldn't figure out who and where it was. All this continued for a while until he received a small pinch on his back, causing him to leap into the air as he returned to the real world.

"Here you are, finally awake!" the same voice he heard before said. John, turned his head lazily, crossing his gaze with that of his wife as he tried to open his eyes as much as possible.

"Did you really have to pinch me, just to wake me up? Couldn't you let me sleep in peace since today is Sunday?" his husband retorted in an annoyed tone as he yawned and laid once again on his bed to take another hour of sleep.

"Today isn't an ordinary day, honey," his wife said and then began to giggle.

"What is it then? It cannot be Christmas or Easter or any other holiday of this country," her husband answered, keeping his eyes closed.

His wife refrained from laughing, she felt slightly guilty but today was really a special day for her husband and she wanted to make it as perfect as possible for the man who had managed to make her truly happy. "It's your birthday, today our son and Jewel will come to visit us, don't tell me you want to stay in bed for the whole day?"

"I'm old, leave me alone. I don't need you to remember me every year that I'm getting older and older," her husband said, covering his whole head with the blanket of the bed.

"It's amazing how much you changed in the last few years, I thought you were joking when you told me that you disliked your birthday!" his wife replied, pulling the blanket off his body.

"All right, all right, you won, I getting up..." her husband said after a few minutes of pulling the blanket with his wife. Many things will never change, he thought as he gave her one last look before going to the bathroom. The house seemed so empty in recent years, it was obvious that someone was missing but he didn't think it would make so much difference.

The funny thing was that it was him who pushed his son to take his own path and repeating to him several times that he had to sacrifice something he had now to aspire to something bigger. Now, living in a house so big for two birds seemed even stranger, if before he couldn't find free space for his stuff or his hobbies, now he was spoiled for choice.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell, soon after, he heard the voice of his wife, clearly happy about their visit. He continued at his rhythm without being in a hurry. After all, it was his birthday, he could do what he liked best with the excuse that today was his day.

"Dad? Are you already awake?" a voice asked from outside the bathroom door.

"Yes, your mom insisted on making me wake up earlier than usual, wait a minute and I will be right with you," he replied. Inside of him, he wanted to punch himself, he didn't see his son from so much time and that was all he had to say? He wondered as he looked intently at the mirror. He couldn't exactly choose the best approach with his son, they were both males and that didn't help him. The last time, they had said goodbye with a pat on the back but he wasn't satisfied enough. After a few minutes of careful reflection, he decided to behave as he had always done and to be himself. He opened the bathroom door and then meet his gaze with that of his son.

He remained speechless for a second, his son had definitely grown up, more than he had expected. Seeing his son in front of him after all that time made his eyes water, so much that he turned for a second to wipe away his tears, without his son noticed it. "Look at you... you grew up so much, Blu..." it was all he could say.

"You weren't the only one who told me this, even mom said your exact same words and, happy birthday, dad!" Blu said, smiling in his father's direction.

"Thanks, and I also want to thank you for coming personally here."

"It was the least I could do after all this time, it's been a long time since I came home," Blu said, following his father as they walked along the upstairs corridors. "How are things going in the library?"

"As usual, some quarrel but always ended up well. Rather, talk to me about how it is going between you and Jewel," his father asked, nudging his son's hips. Blu sighed as he witnessed this scene once again.

"It's all right, today she came with me to visit her parents later," Blu said as soon as they gathered together with the other part of the family.

"Hi Jewel, what a pleasure to see you again," John said after he sat at the table while drinking some coffee.

"Me too and happy birthday sir. We hadn't been back to Moose Lake for a while and I must say that I really missed this harsh climate and landscape," Jewel said, giving a quick glance out the window.

"As the locals say: once you get here, you'll have a hard time living without it," Camilla answered, starting to laugh.

They talked for a few hours, talking about what happened after their absence. They hadn't met for a while, the work of Blu and Jewel kept them occupied that the only time they could go home was for Christmas. Once lunchtime was imminent, they decided to drop by Jewel's parents.

The journey was very fast, Blu and Jewel, accustomed to the great traffic of the big cities, they had forgotten the pros of living in a small city. They still had some friends here but their main friends had moved to other parts of the country or even to another state like Rafael, who had done it to be with his girlfriend named Eva.

They didn't have many reasons to come back but, since their parents were in the same city, they had no reason to not visit them. The facade of the restaurant hadn't changed much after all these years, the only big change was that the walls had been repainted. Jewel smiled as soon as she read the sign of the place, thousands of memories passed through her head, from her youth, as she helped as much she could her parents, to 5 years ago when it became a real job.

They wasted no time and immediately opened the door of the restaurant as soon as they got out of the car. The interiors were the same as Jewel and Blu remembered. The position of the tables and chairs had changed but they had certainly not come to check what was changed and what not. The first bird to speak to them was none other than her aunt Mimi. "Sorry but the place isn't open yet, come back in an hour," her aunt said, while she was arranging napkins at the tables.

"Really? Is that how you greet me after all this time?" Jewel asked sarcastically after approaching her aunt.

"What do you mean?" her aunt said, stopping for a moment and turning her head. As soon as she saw Jewel, she smiled and hugged her as hard as she could, scaring Blu who was at her side. "Next time, warn me first! You can't introduce yourself like this without any warning!" her aunt said, squeezing her niece's cheeks.

It was a very embarrassing situation for the family of Blu, but they knew that Jewel's aunt was a very lively bird, she would never hesitate to show these gestures of affection to her niece. "Where are mum and dad?" Jewel asked after looking around, trying to find her parents.

"They're in the kitchen, discussing changes to the menu as usual," her aunt said, pointing to the direction in which Jewel's parents were.

She wasted no time and walked towards the kitchen door, as soon as she was close enough, she heard two unmistakable voices, the two voices that had seen her grow into the bird that she was today. "Honey, but you cannot remove this dish! It's Lucas, Mike, Adam and Carl's favorite dish!" her mother said as she tried to reason her father.

"I'm glad that you remember the names of our customers but we cannot keep a plate in the menu just because four customers like it on the hundreds we have!" her father retorted, crossing his wings, clearly disagreeing with her mother.

"Then, if they come to the restaurant, it will be your job to talk to them in person and justify your motivation."

"But it's not my job! I'm the chief cook, not just a waiter! "

"Are you saying that you think the cooks are superior to the waiters?"

"Well... in a way, yes," Eduardo confessed, only to see his wife's anger accumulate more and more.

"I challenge you to change our roles for a day, I want to see if, at the end of the day, you will still be of your own idea."

"All right, you wouldn't last five minutes in my kitchen, then it will be your job as the head cook to apologize to the whole room!"

"Mom, dad... just stop arguing about such silly thing," Jewel said after witnessing a part of their conversation. Both macaws petrified as soon as they heard that voice.

"Did you hear it too or I was dreaming?" Eduardo asked his wife after several seconds of silence.

"I swear! I heard our daughter's voice!" his wife replied.

"I think my age is making me crazy, I'm starting to hear our daughter's voice when she's clearly on the other side of the country," her father said, putting a wing on his forehead to make sure he was fine. Jewel barely held back from laughing, she felt guilty because it was clear that her parents missed her, approached her parents and hugged her father from behind, catching him by surprise.

"Who is hugging me! Sarah, tell me who is behind me!" Eduardo repeated several times, raising his wings to the sky while trying to figure out who was behind him. Sarah took a quick look behind her husband, only to see her daughter. She remained open-mouthed while her husband kept asking her to tell who it was that since it didn't want to let him go.

"Sarah? Why don't you answer me?" her husband asked, cocking his head as he studied his wife's expression.

"Dad, it's me," Jewel said finally letting him go, his father shivered again, slowly turning his head until they were face to face. He stood still for a few seconds. He didn't really expect to see his daughter now, he hadn't seen her for two years or so. Since Blu had published his book, they hadn't been able to meet each other for a couple of years in a row.

During this long period of time, they had spoken only by phone and video calls, it was better than nothing but he never stopped hoping to be able to embrace her daughter. They had a quite cold goodbye last time, he wanted his daughter to move to a place closer to Moose Lake and not as far as she wanted.

As time went by, he missed her, he didn't like to see his daughter only through a cold screen and without being there with her. Meanwhile, Jewel smiled at seeing his father's expression, he always struggled to express his emotions explicitly and she knew that what she had done made him very embarrassed, especially in front of everyone.

What had happened after that silence shocked her, not even in her best dreams had she ever imagined seeing her father hug her as he poured several tears from his eyes. "I missed you, my daughter... you don't even know how much..." he said as he held his daughter close to him, not wanting to let her go for the second time.

Everyone was surprised at that sight, even Sarah who knew him better than anyone else. Jewel couldn't help but shed few tears to that gesture of affection from her father. She certainly didn't expect to see her father showing so much affection in her whole life. "I missed you too, both you and mom..." Jewel said after returning the hug from her father.

Needless to say, that day was unforgettable for both macaws, Jewel decided to spend the evening at her house while Blu did the same thing. It was now evening and they had finished dinner a few hours ago, they were currently in front of the TV, watching a movie. Camilla was currently washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen while John and his son, Blu, were in the living room.

John couldn't take that view off from his head, Eduardo, now a dear friend of his had managed to do what he couldn't. He had always joked about how he was too cold with his daughter but after today... he wasn't anymore sure if it was still like that. His father had never done anything like this with him and he had grown up without ever feeling the lack of such a gesture of affection.

However, John considered himself different from his father, yet, he was behaving in a way very similar to him. His previous interactions with Blu weren't anywhere near what they saw today. Blu knew he could freely talk to him about anything but they had never done what Eduardo did with Jewel today.

"Dad, you can't forget about what happened today?" Blu asked after watching his father for several minutes.

His father refrained from laughing, he had always been the one to find his son's problems, but now it was him who need somebody else's help. "Was it so obvious?"

"Yes. I must admit that he surprised me too."

"Blu... I'm extremely happy to see you again but I'm not really able to express it like Eduardo had done today with Jewel..." John said, feeling a boulder fell off from his shoulders.

"Don't worry, the same is true for me, I know you missed me and the same is true for me, I don't need you to hug me or anything else, I just need to see you again," Blu said, smiling.

"You really grew up in these years..." John replied, surprised by the words of his son.

"You remind me a lot of your father when we moved here to live together," Camilla said after finally reaching her husband and son in the living room.

"Blu... regarding that matter... have you thought about it?" his father asked after a few minutes of conversation.

"I love Jewel but ... what if she says no to me?" Blu replied after thinking carefully about his answer.

"How can you still have doubts after all these years when you and she were together? She even chose to follow you, moving into your own city!" John retorted, surprised by his son's doubts.

"Your father is right, a girl doesn't do all this without a valid reason. Take all the time you need, we aren't in a hurry," Camilla added.

"I don't know if I'm ready to take this big step..."

"You will never be 100% ready, as I wasn't when I asked your mother to marry me, you will always have doubts but know that you won't be alone, you have both of us and your friends. Now don't think about it anymore," his father said, returning his attention to the TV.

"All right, I'll think about it, sorry dad if I came empty-handed, next time I'll try to bring something with me."

"You don't have to, the fact that you came in person is already a gift itself, in fact, come more often to visit us," John said, starting to laugh with his wife.

"I will certainly do it!" his son replied.

"As for your work, are you always assaulted by the paparazzi?" his mother asked, trying to keep herself from laughing. She was still struggling to believe that there really was someone in this world who was willing to chase after her son, just to take a picture of him. It was the typical Hollywood movie plot, with the only difference that this was the real world.

"Sometimes yes, many times I have to wear sunglasses to go unnoticed but even applying all these precautions, my plumage stands out too much among the other birds," Blu replied, rubbing the feathers on his neck.

"Our color of plumage is the best! Only a few other birds have the chance to show off our color," his mother said, amused as she continued her discussion with her son.

* * *

Both Blu and Jewel tried to spend as much time as possible with their parents, unfortunately, their commitments were behind them and after a few days, they had no choice but to return to where they had come from. They were currently at the airport; their plane would leave in a few minutes and it was time to say goodbye.

"I hope this won't be a farewell," Camilla said to the two macaws, hugging her son and Jewel. Then, leaving room for her husband.

Jewel's parent had already said goodbye to their daughter and Blu, only John was missing, who had remained as usual on the sidelines while looking with melancholy at the clock hand that didn't stop moving. He wanted so much that their stay lasted longer but he knew that all this wasn't possible.

"C'mon John, you don't want to let your son go without a last goodbye, right?" his wife said, attracting his attention.

John sighed and then approached the two macaws. "Do you really have to go after such a short stay?"

That was all he could say, needless to say, his wife put her wing on her face and then shook her head numerous times in disappointment. His son, on the other hand, smiled as soon as he heard his father's request. "Yes, Dad, I would like to stay longer but I have commitments... I will come as soon as I can to visit all of you again."

His father smiled as he thought over what was the best way to say goodbye to his son when a voice interrupted his thoughts. "Isn't that T. Gunderson?!" a voice said not far away from them.

The family of blue macaws turned to the source of the voice, only to see a small group of birds heading towards them. "Oh no..." Blu said as soon as he understood what was about to happen, he grabbed his luggage and prepared to run towards his plane until a wing stopped him.

"Are you running away without giving me the chance to say goodbye?" his father asked sarcastically as he showed his smile. He raised his other wing, forming a fist and waiting for his son.

Blu smiled as soon as he saw his father's gesture. "No hug but a greeting between boys?" it was all he said and then formed a fist and beat it on his father's one. "Sorry, but now I have to run, we'll call you as soon as we get off the plane!" Blu said and then ran with Jewel to their gate. They showed their documents and then immediately boarded their plane. The crowd of admirers was blocked at the entrance by several security guards, who were extremely surprised to see all these birds together.

The parents of the two macaws attended that scene from where they were before, each of them had mixed emotions while they witnessed that scene, on the one hand, they were happy that the career of Blu was so successful but on the other side, they were more than saddened of the fact that he had to constantly hide in public places.

"The kids of today... they don't know what respect is anymore," Eduardo said, assisting a bird's attempt to climb over a security guard.

"You were just like them in the past, do I have to remember you all your misdeeds?" Sarah asked, squinting her eye as she looked at her husband.

"Ehm... no thanks, I don't need to look back to the past, now I only think of the present and the future," Eduardo replied, turning his head and starting to head towards the exit of the airport.

"Children grow up really fast, am I right?" Camilla asked, turning to her husband.

"Too fast for my taste," he said, letting a smile escape from his beak. After all, he was able to make their goodbye in a particular way compared to other times, his son had even decided to come in person for his birthday... it was the least he could do, he thought. He raised his eyes to the sky as he watched his son's plane take off, flying high into the sky until it disappeared within seconds, leaving a white trail on the blue sky of that day.

"Come on, let's go back to the library, we still have a lot of work to finish," John said, turning around and following Jewel's parents to the exit.

"If you say so..." Camilla said, giggling as she ran to join him.

* * *

 **AN: Woah, here we are at the end of my first story. I am perfectly aware that it may seem like a very rushed ending but... in my opinion, it was the best thing for me to do, trying to further extend this story would only bring more problems than advantages. It's been a month since my last update, I almost feared that everyone forgot about this story but I was wrong, thanks for your patience and I hope you all enjoyed this ending.**

 **I have directly skipped the part of the recovery from amnesia since it would be equivalent to rewriting many things already happened in the previous chapters. It would surely bore you to death and I don't have all this time to dedicate to it. I tried to make these times skip as reader-friendly as I could, adding many small details to leave no holes in the plot.**

 **The original ending was nowhere like this, but to tell the truth, I prefer this one. I perfectly know that it's the typical cliché of the last goodbye at the airport but I found it good enough to choose it over the other one. I would like to thank all of you: more than 3000 views, 15 favorites, 17 follows and 62 reviews... you all are the best, if it weren't for your support, most likely I would never have finished this story or at least not so soon.**

 **If I have to tell the truth, there are a lot of things that I would change if I wrote this story all over again. I started with so many ideas but many had never been shown... My personal rating for this story is 6-7/10. Yes, just enough make it acceptable. So many grammatical errors because of my mediocre English and not to mention the many details lost during the translations... (You cannot even imagine the difference between the Italian version and this one.)**

 **Characters like Roberto, Rafael, Rebecca etc... have literally disappeared until now, I realize but... I didn't know how to involve them more than what I wrote. After all, this story was written with the intention to show the family of Blu and Jewel, something showed very rarely in this archive. I think I have succeeded in my intent but I will leave the last word to you.**

 **As for my future projects... I am still uncertain about what to do, my hype for Rio has almost completely vanished. I am currently struggling to write stories for this archive, most likely I will publish another story in the future but don't get your hopes too high. It will be a sad story, the exact opposite of this one.**

 **I would have an epilogue in mind for this story, of course, I will wait for your feedback before I get to work and write it. I would really, and when I say really, I mean REALLY appreciate one last feedback from my regular readers. During this story, I did nothing but criticize and criticize myself that many times that I almost had the intention of giving up everything and abandoning this story. Let me know what was the moment that you liked the most, I would be very curious to find out if we think in the same way.**

 **In the meantime, I will continue to take a look at this community and to support it as best I can, thank you once again to all of you, you are the best and thanks again for your warm welcome. I hope to see you again soon in the future, for now, this will only be a goodbye.**

 **~Fenix139**


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